84.71 Automatic data processing machines and units thereof, magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included
One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.
Section XVI, Machinery & Electrical — machinery, mechanical appliances, electrical and electronic equipment.
- 84 Chapter Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors; parts thereof
- 71 Heading Automatic data processing machines and units thereof, magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 8 six-digit codes below
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 84The 8 six-digit codes under 84.71
One of these is the number you declare.
- 8471.30 Automatic data processing machines; portable, weighing not more than 10kg, consisting of at least a central processing unit, a keyboard and a display
- 8471.41 Automatic data processing machines; comprising in the same housing at least a central processing unit and an input and output unit, whether or not combined, n.e.c. in item no. 8471.30
- 8471.49 Automatic data processing machines; presented in the form of systems, n.e.c. in item no. 8471.30 or 8471.41
- 8471.50 Units of automatic data processing machines; processing units other than those of item no. 8471.41 or 8471.49, whether or not containing in the same housing one or two of the following types of unit: storage units, input units or output units
- 8471.60 Units of automatic data processing machines; input or output units, whether or not containing storage units in the same housing
- 8471.70 Units of automatic data processing machines; storage units
- 8471.80 Units of automatic data processing machines; n.e.c. in item no. 8471.50, 8471.60 or 8471.70
- 8471.90 Magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included
Other headings in chapter 84
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 84.71? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment84.71 FAQ
Heading 84.71 covers automatic data processing machines and units thereof, magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included. It is part of chapter 84 (machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors; parts thereof), and it is subdivided into 8 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 8 subheadings below. Those six digits are what customs recognises internationally; the importing country may extend them to eight or ten in its own tariff schedule.
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.