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HS 2523.29Building materials

HS Code for Grey Portland Cement (HS 2523.29)

Grey Portland cement is the world's most produced building material at ~4 billion tonnes per year. CBAM captures cement's embedded emissions through the clinker factor; using slag or fly ash (CEM III/CEM II-B) cuts CBAM cost meaningfully.

Reviewed against WCO HS · WTO IDB · National customs schedules5 authoritative sourcesLast reviewed July 2026

Sample 6-digit codes

CodeDescription
2523.29Other Portland cement (grey)
2523.90Other hydraulic cements
Need to check a specific code? Use the free HS code lookup tool.

Typical import duty by market

MarketDuty
European Union
1.7%
CBAM 2026 - certificates on embedded emissions × clinker factor.
United States
0%
India (BCD)
10%
Plus GST 28%.
UAE
5%

Worked landed-cost example

35,000 MT CEM I 42.5N, FOB Alexandria USD 62/MT, CFR Piraeus

FOBUSD 2,170,000
FreightUSD 210,000
CFRUSD 2,380,000
EU duty 1.7%USD 40,460
CBAM 2026 (~0.65 tCO2/t × EUR 80)≈ USD 1.95m
2024/25 landed ≈ USD 2.42m; post-2026 with full CBAM ≈ USD 4.37m (+81%).
Run your own numbers in the import duty & tax calculator.
Regulatory checkpoints
  • · EN 197-1 CEM I/II/III/IV/V classes.
  • · ASTM C150 Types I-V for US market.
  • · IMSBC Code - Portland cement Group C non-hazardous bulk.
  • · CBAM Annex I.
Top exporting countries
  • · Vietnam
  • · Turkey
  • · UAE
  • · Iran
  • · Japan
  • · Thailand

Frequently asked questions

Does CEM III blended cement cut CBAM?

Yes materially. CEM III/B has clinker factor as low as 20-34% vs 95%+ for CEM I. CBAM certificates surrender scales with the clinker share, so switching to slag-blended cement roughly cuts CBAM cost by two-thirds.

Destination market toolkits

Country-specific duty, VAT/GST and Incoterms practice for the top destinations for building materials.

Import into India →
IGST on imports · 5% / 12% / 18% / 28%
Import into United Arab Emirates →
VAT · 5% standard
Import into United States →
No federal VAT / GST · 0% federal
Import into Germany →
VAT (Umsatzsteuer / Einfuhrumsatzsteuer) · 19% standard, 7% reduced
Import into Vietnam →
VAT · 10% standard, 5% reduced, 0% export
Import into Türkiye →
KDV (VAT) · 20% standard, 10% reduced, 1% basic goods (from July 2023)

Building materials landed-cost pages: every destination market

Jump straight to the building materials import guide for any of the destination markets we cover.

Related commodity guides

HS 25Building materials
HS Code for Cement and Clinker (Chapter 25) →
HS 2523.10Building materials
HS Code for Cement Clinker (HS 2523.10) →
HS 2523.21Building materials
HS Code for White Portland Cement (HS 2523.21) →
HS 2523.90Building materials
HS Code for GGBS / Slag Cement (HS 2523.90) →

Related tools

HS Code Lookup →
Search harmonised codes across 21 sections.
Import Duty & Tax →
Landed cost with duty, VAT/GST and cess.
Landed Cost by HS & Country →
Duty + VAT/GST + Incoterm split for this HS.
CIF ↔ FOB Converter →
Convert customs value between Incoterms.

Sources & citations

Duty rates and regulations compiled from WCO HS, WTO integrated database, national customs authorities and published FTA schedules. Provided for decision-support only - confirm the 10-digit line and current preferential status with your licensed customs broker before acting.

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