Brazil NCM · 8-digit subitem

NCM 0303.89.56 – Frozen arapaima

NCM 0303.89.56 (also written 03038956) is Brazil's code for frozen arapaima. Its first 6 digits are HS code 0303.89.

Official description of NCM 0303.89.56

PortuguêsOfficial
Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas)
EnglishUnofficial translation

Arapaima (Arapaima gigas)

Nomenclatura Comum do Mercosul (Siscomex). Updated Oct 2026 · In force since Apr 2022 (Res Gecex 272/2021).

How to read NCM 0303.89.56

03Chapter 03Heading 89Subheading

HS code 0303.89
Same in every country

5Item 6Subitem

Added by Mercosur
Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

The first 6 digits are the international HS code, so their meaning is the same in every country; Brazil publishes the text in Portuguese. Digits 7 and 8 are Brazil's own split of that HS code. The full 8-digit code is used on import declarations (DUIMP), invoices (NF-e) and tax filings.

Full classification path

  1. Chapter 03 Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates Peixes e crustáceos, moluscos e outros invertebrados aquáticos.
  2. Heading 03.03 Fish; frozen, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304 Peixes congelados, exceto os filés (filetes) de peixes e outra carne de peixes da posição 03.04.
  3. Group 0303.8 Other fish, excluding edible fish offal of subheadings 0303.91 to 0303.99 Outros peixes, exceto subprodutos comestíveis de peixes das subposições 0303.91 a 0303.99:
  4. Subheading 0303.89 Fish; frozen, n.e.c. in heading 0303, excluding fillets, fish meat of 0304, and edible fish offal of subheadings 0303.91 to 0303.99 Outros
  5. Item 0303.89.5 Prochilods (Prochilodus spp.), tilapias (Tilapia spp., Sarotherodon spp., Danakilia spp.; their hybrids), shovelnose catfish (Pseudoplatystoma spp.), trahira (Hoplias malabaricus & H. cf. lacerdae), headstanders (Leporinus spp.) and arapaima (Arapaima gigas) Curimatãs (Prochilodus spp.), tilápias (Tilapia spp., Sarotherodon spp., Danakilia spp.; seus híbridos), surubins (Pseudoplatystoma spp.), traíra (Hoplias malabaricus & H. cf. lacerdae), piaus (Leporinus spp.) e pirarucu (Arapaima gigas)
  6. Subitem 0303.89.56 Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas)

Other NCM codes under HS 0303.89

0303.89.10 Frozen whitemouth croakerCorvina (Micropogonias furnieri) 0303.89.20 Frozen weakfishPescadas (Cynoscion spp.) 0303.89.32 Frozen southern red snapperPargo (Lutjanus purpureus) 0303.89.33 Frozen monkfish (anglerfish)Peixe-sapo (Lophius gastrophysus) 0303.89.41 Frozen wreckfishCherne-poveiro (Polyprion americanus) 0303.89.42 Frozen groupers (Acanthistius)Garoupas (Acanthistius spp.) 0303.89.43 Frozen mulletsTainhas (Mugil spp.) 0303.89.44 Frozen sturgeon (4 Acipenser spp.)Esturjões (Acipenser baerii, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, Acipenser persicus, Acipenser stellatus) 0303.89.45 Frozen sand smeltsPeixes-rei (Atherina spp.) 0303.89.46 Frozen Patagonian rockcod (notothens)Nototenias (Patagonotothen spp.) 0303.89.51 Frozen prochilodsCurimatãs (Prochilodus spp.) 0303.89.52 Frozen tilapia (not Oreochromis)Tilápias (Tilapia spp., Sarotherodon spp., Danakilia spp.; seus híbridos) 0303.89.53 Frozen shovelnose catfishSurubins (Pseudoplatystoma spp.) 0303.89.54 Frozen trahiraTraíra (Hoplias malabaricus & H. cf. lacerdae) 0303.89.55 Frozen headstanders (Leporinus)Piaus (Leporinus spp.) 0303.89.61 Frozen laulao catfish (piramutaba)Piramutaba (Brachyplatystoma vaillantii) 0303.89.62 Frozen gilded catfishDourada (Brachyplatystoma flavicans) 0303.89.63 Frozen pacuPacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) 0303.89.64 Frozen tambaquiTambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) 0303.89.65 Frozen tambacu (tambaqui-pacu hybrid)Tambacu (híbrido de tambaqui e pacu) 0303.89.90 Other frozen fishOutros

Questions about NCM 0303.89.56

What is NCM 0303.89.56?

NCM 0303.89.56 (03038956) is the Brazilian (Mercosur) code for frozen arapaima. Its official Portuguese description is “Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas)”.

What is the HS code for NCM 0303.89.56?

HS 0303.89 (Fish; frozen, n.e.c. in heading 0303, excluding fillets, fish meat of 0304, and edible fish offal of subheadings 0303.91 to 0303.99). The first 6 digits of an NCM code are its international HS code; the last 2 digits are Brazil's own split.

Is an NCM code the same as an HS code?

The first 6 digits are the same in every country. NCM adds an item digit (7th) and a subitem digit (8th). A code ending in 00 means Brazil does not split that HS code further.

Which countries use NCM 0303.89.56?

All Mercosur members use the same NCM codes: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Source: Siscomex Classif NCM table, updated Oct 2026 (Resolução Gecex nº 926/2026). The Portuguese text is the official one; the English is our translation.