The system is used by more than 200 countries for customs and trade purposes. It is also extensively used by governments, international organizations and the private sector for many other purposes such as internal taxes, trade policies, monitoring of controlled goods, rules of origin, freight tariffs, transport statistics, price monitoring, quota controls, compilation of national accounts, and economic research and analysis. The rates of tax under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime are also based on the Harmonized System.
The Supreme Court has also recognised importance of the Explanatory Notes issued by the World Customs Organization as having strong persuasive value for classification of goods under the various Acts.
Source: Barandbench
