About Chapter 52
Chapter 52 of the Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) is titled “Cotton”. It is part of Section XI, Textiles & Textile Articles, together with Chapter 50 (silk), Chapter 51 (wool, fine or coarse animal hair), Chapter 53 (other vegetable textile fibres), Chapter 54 (man-made filaments), Chapter 55 (man-made staple fibres), Chapter 56 (wadding, felt and nonwovens; special yarns), Chapter 57 (carpets and other textile floor coverings), Chapter 58 (special fabrics, lace and embroidery), Chapter 59 (impregnated, coated, covered or laminated textile fabrics), Chapter 60 (knitted or crocheted fabrics), Chapter 61 (articles of apparel and clothing accessories), Chapter 62 (articles of apparel and clothing accessories) and Chapter 63 (other made up textile articles; sets).
The chapter is divided into 12 headings, from 5201 (cotton, not carded or combed) to 5212 (other woven fabrics of cotton). The headings with the most codes that people search for are woven fabrics of cotton, containing 85% or more by weight of cotton (5209), cotton, not carded or combed (5201), cotton yarn, containing 85% or more by weight of cotton, not put up for retail sale (5205), woven fabrics of cotton, containing less than 85% by weight of cotton (5211) and cotton sewing thread, whether or not put up for retail sale (5204).
A sub-heading note defines “denim” for sub-headings 5209 42 and 5211 42: fabric of yarns of different colours, of 3-thread or 4-thread twill, including broken twill, warp faced, with warp yarns of one colour and weft yarns unbleached, bleached, dyed grey or in a lighter shade of the warp colour.
Every heading is listed below. Under each are the codes that have their own page on Laabam One, 16 codes in this chapter, each with its full classification: its chapter, heading and sub-heading, and the codes beside it.
Every code in this chapter begins with 52: four digits make a heading, six a sub-heading, and eight a tariff item of India's Customs Tariff. How many of those digits a GST tax invoice shows depends on the business, not the goods: under Notification No. 78/2020 – Central Tax, from 1 April 2021, four digits where aggregate turnover in the previous financial year was up to ₹5 crore, and six above it. Up to ₹5 crore, the code may be left off invoices to unregistered buyers.
No GST rate is shown here. GST rates were revised in September 2025, and a rate appears on this site only once it has been checked against the CBIC rate notifications.
Sources: ITC(HS) Chapter 52, DGCI&S (title, headings and notes); Notification No. 78/2020 – Central Tax (HSN digits on invoices).