HS 940690 · Prefabricated buildings
Get the code right at quotation time, not at customs.
Misclassifying HS 940690 on the commercial invoice walks the cargo into the wrong duty rate, the wrong rebate column, and a customs hold that costs days of demurrage to clear. This page gives you the WCO heading, the product it most often covers, the China VAT export rebate rate, the US Section 301 status, the supplier provinces that ship it, and practitioner buying notes for first-time importers.
For an explanation of how the WCO Harmonized System is structured, what each digit means, and why misclassification is the most common landed-cost error first-time buyers make, see the HS code glossary entry.
Key facts
The numbers a buyer needs at the quotation stage. Verify each against the live source before invoicing; rates and rebate columns move.
| WCO heading | Other prefabricated buildings |
|---|---|
| Chapter | 94, Furniture, bedding, lamps, prefab buildings |
| Industry segment | Construction materials |
| Chinese name | 预制建筑物 |
| China VAT export rebate | 13% Source: China State Taxation Administration (国家税务总局), 2025 schedule. Subject to change. |
| US Section 301 | 25% Source: USTR Section 301 List 1 / 2 / 3 / 4. Verify against the current schedule. |
| Major Chinese supplier provinces | Hebei, Shandong, Guangdong |
Buying notes
Modular and prefab buildings, container houses, light-steel-frame structures, and modular site offices. China dominates the export prefab market; the post-COVID push on rapid hospital / quarantine / refugee housing accelerated the segment. Section 301 25% + Section 232 steel 25% on the steel content. Local-jurisdiction building-code compliance matters: IBC (US), BS / Eurocode (EU), AS 3600 (Australia) drive structural certification; the typical China-export prefab unit ships without local engineering certification, which the buyer must arrange separately at destination.
Common end uses
The applications that drive most of the global tonnage under this code.
- Construction-site offices and worker accommodation
- Disaster-relief and emergency housing
- Modular school, clinic, and remote-site facilities
- Pop-up retail, café, hospitality structures
- Modular industrial process buildings
Where to read next
For the structure of the HS / Harmonized System, what each digit means, and why misclassification costs landed-cost margin, see the HS code glossary entry.
Need a quote on this code? Send us the HS code, the destination port, and the tonnage and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the current Section 301 and rebate position.
Read next
Other codes in the same chapter and the references behind them
HS Code
HS 940542 LED lighting fittings (metal)
Chapter 94, LED lighting fittings (metal). China VAT rebate 13%.
HS Code
HS 940541 LED lighting fittings (plastic)
Chapter 94, LED lighting fittings (plastic). China VAT rebate 13%.
HS Code
HS 391810 PVC floor coverings (LVT, sheet, tiles)
Chapter 39, PVC floor coverings (LVT, sheet, tiles). China VAT rebate 13%.
HS Code
HS 700719 Toughened safety glass (non-vehicle)
Chapter 70, Toughened safety glass (non-vehicle). China VAT rebate 13%.
HS Code
HS 392590 Plastic builders' ware
Chapter 39, Plastic builders' ware. China VAT rebate 13%.
Glossary
HS Code, Harmonized System Code
A six-digit international product classification code used by customs authorities worldwide to identify goods, assess duties, and apply trade controls. Countries extend the six-digit base with additional digits for tariff and statistical purposes (10-digit HTS in the US, 8-digit CN code in the EU, 10-digit AHECC in Australia).
Free download
Free PDF: thirty-point factory audit checklist used on every chemical-park site visit, mapped against the HS-code-leading Chinese producers.