Importers of HS 9609.10 (pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a sheath) from India actually paid 16.89% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 16.72% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 14¢/gross + 4.3%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 6.42% → 16.89%, with the largest single step -28.6pp in 2026-02. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. Collected 16.89% against an HTS base of 14¢/gross + 4.3%. Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "9609.10", origin: "India") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs
HS 9609.10. The schedule base rate is 14¢/gross + 4.3%; importers from India actually paid 16.89% on the dutiable value in 2026-06. Measured, not modelled.
Over the window the collected rate moved 6.42% (2023-07) → 16.89% (2026-06), largest single step -28.6pp in 2026-02.
India's lower duty (16.72% vs 23.3%) lets it price up to 5.6% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, India actually lands cheaper — $5.99/kg vs $6.82/kg (duty in, freight out).
7 Chapter-99 measures name India; scope mapping is partial (several annexes are PDFs) — absence never means exemption. They do not sum, and some are product-specific — the collected rate above is the composed truth.
All goods from India · the whole tariff ledger · 7 CBP rulings cite this code · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "9609.10", origin: "India") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.