8428.33 Elevators and conveyors; continuous-action, for goods or materials, belt type, n.e.c. in item no. 8428.20 or 8428.31
A full HS code. These six digits are what goes on a customs declaration, and they mean the same thing in every country that uses the Harmonized System.
Section XVI, Machinery & Electrical — machinery, mechanical appliances, electrical and electronic equipment.
- 84 Chapter Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors; parts thereof
- 28 Heading Lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery; n.e.c. in heading no. 8425, 8426 or 8427 (e.g. lifts, escalators, conveyors, teleferics)
- 33 Subheading Elevators and conveyors; continuous-action, for goods or materials, belt type, n.e.c. in item no. 8428.20 or 8428.31
Chapter 84 covers machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors; parts thereof: industrial machinery, engines, pumps, computers and other non-electrical mechanical equipment. With 86 headings and 538 six-digit codes, it's the largest chapter in the Harmonized System and covers most industrial and computing equipment. Classification tip: Machines are usually classified by function (what the machine does) rather than the industry that uses it, and parts generally follow the classification of the finished machine they belong to: check both rules before assigning a code.
All of chapter 84Other codes under 84.28
The wording above is the Harmonized System nomenclature as published by the World Customs Organization, HS 2022 edition. It is a classification reference, not a tariff: it carries no duty rates, and it stops at six digits — the importing country adds its own beyond that.
Classification is decided by the General Rules of Interpretation and the section and chapter notes, and it is the importing country’s customs authority that makes it binding.
Shipping goods under 8428.33? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment8428.33 FAQ
8428.33 covers elevators and conveyors; continuous-action, for goods or materials, belt type, n.e.c. in item no. 8428.20 or 8428.31. It sits under heading 84.28 (lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery; n.e.c. in heading no. 8425, 8426 or 8427 (e.g. lifts, escalators, conveyors, teleferics)) in chapter 84, Section XVI of the Harmonized System.
It is the international part of it. Six digits are the same in every country that applies the Harmonized System; the importing country then extends them to eight or ten for its own tariff and statistics. Declare 8428.33 plus whatever national digits the destination’s tariff schedule adds to it.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section XVI and to chapter 84. A description that reads right is not enough on its own — the notes routinely pull goods out of the chapter they obviously belong to and put them somewhere else. Where duty or licensing turns on the answer, ask the importing country’s customs authority for a binding ruling.
A wrong or missing code is one of the common reasons customs holds a container, and a hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving. Watch for it in the container tracking app, on the air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or through the tracking API.