All HS sections and chapters 2-digit chapter

85 Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and sound recorders and reproducers, parts and accessories of such articles

The broadest level of the Harmonized System. Pick the heading below that fits your goods, then the six-digit code under it — that last one is what you declare.

Section XVI, Machinery & Electrical — machinery, mechanical appliances, electrical and electronic equipment.

  1. 85 Chapter Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and sound recorders and reproducers, parts and accessories of such articles
  2. —— Heading Pick one of the 48 headings below
  3. —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares

Chapter 85 covers electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and sound recorders and reproducers, parts and accessories of such articles: motors, generators, batteries, telephones, semiconductors and most consumer electronics. Together with chapter 84 it makes up Section XVI, the machinery and electronics backbone of modern manufacturing trade. Classification tip: Multi-function electronics (a phone that's also a camera and a computer) are classified by their principal function under the General Rules of Interpretation, which is often the single most disputed classification question in this chapter.

48 headings in chapter 85

Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.

Other chapters in Section XVI

84 Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, nuclear reactors; parts thereof

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 from chapter 85? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.

Track a shipment

Chapter 85 FAQ

Chapter 85 covers electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and sound recorders and reproducers, parts and accessories of such articles: motors, generators, batteries, telephones, semiconductors and most consumer electronics. Together with chapter 84 it makes up Section XVI, the machinery and electronics backbone of modern manufacturing trade. Classification tip: Multi-function electronics (a phone that's also a camera and a computer) are classified by their principal function under the General Rules of Interpretation, which is often the single most disputed classification question in this chapter.

Pick the heading below that describes the goods, then the six-digit subheading under it. Six digits is the level the Harmonized System defines and the level customs everywhere recognises; anything beyond that is added by the importing country.

The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section XVI and to chapter 85. 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.

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