Commodities are grouped as far as practicable according to the generally accepted principles as follows:

• the nature of the merchandise and the materials used in its production
• the processing stage - whether crude, semi-manufactured or fully manufactured
• market practices and the uses of the products
• the importance of the commodity in terms of world trade
• technological changes

Objectives and basic considerations in preparing the PSCC, Revision 2

The NSCB Technical Working Group on Commodity Classification was guided with the objective of producing an updated and/or more relevant commodity classification with the following basic considerations:

• that there should be a one-to-one correspondence of the PSCC, Revision 2 and the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines at the 7-digit level to ensure a facile arrangement on the translation of customs data in terms of the PSCC, Revision 2 for economic and statistical purposes
• that the structure of the PSCC, Revised 2 be preserved up to the 5-digit level for purposes of historical continuity and comparability

As in the original and revised PSCC, the present classification is presented in six levels of details:

section, division, group, subgroup, item and sub-item.

Each commodity or commodity group is identified by a unique code number. For convenience in obtaining aggregates at each level by automatic data processing equipment, the code number of each commodity is so designed that the first digit identifies the section, the first two digits, the division; the first three digits, the group; the first four digits, subgroup; the first five digits, the item; and the seven digits, sub-item or specific commodity.

Example:

034.28-06 - Milkfish (bangus), frozen (excluding livers and roes)

Section - 0 - Food and live animals

Division - 03 - Fish (not marine animals), crustaceans, mollusks and aquatic invertebrates, and preparations thereof

Group - 034 - Fish, fresh (live or dead), chilled or frozen

Subgroup - 034.2 - Fish, frozen (excluding fillets and minced fish)

Item - 034,28 - Other fish, frozen (excluding livers and roes)

Sub-item - 034.28-06 - Milkfish (bangus), frozen (excluding livers and roes)

The present edition of the PSCC contains:

• 10 sections on broad economic categories
• 66 divisions
• 260 groups which provide data mostly sought in international compilation of trade statistics
• 1,032 subgroups which comprise all commodities of international trade
• 3,127 items which provide more details to permit some correspondence with Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature (CCCN) and other economic classifications
• 8,314 sub-items which compose all commodities of national interest

The format of the PSCC, Revision 2 presents the following information:

• First column - PSCC Revision 2 Code. Corresponding code numbers for the sections, divisions, groups, subgroups, items and sub-items in the PSCC, Revision 2. The first five digits tally with the corresponding United Nations Standard International Trade Classification (SITC).
• Second column - PSCC Revised Code. Corresponding code number of said sub-items in the PSCC Revised. For commodities not found in the PSCC Revised, the word "new" is used. These corresponding PSCC Revised code numbers serve only as guides for ascertaining the relation between the present PSCC and the PSCC Revised (1989).
• Third column - Commodity Description. Corresponding titles of the sections, divisions, groups, subgroups, items and sub-items.
• Fourth column - Unit of Quantity. Corresponding usual designation of quantity in trade practice and, where possible grades or standard specifications of quality, size, etc. As in the last publication, the metric system used.
• Fifth column - Tariff Heading. Corresponding code number according to the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System).