8517.61 Base stations
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.
- 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
- 17 Heading Telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones for cellular/wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data (including wired/wireless networks), excluding items of 8443, 8525, 8527, or 8528
- 61 Subheading Base stations
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.
All of chapter 85Other codes under 85.17
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 8517.61? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment8517.61 FAQ
8517.61 covers base stations. It sits under heading 85.17 (telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones for cellular/wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data (including wired/wireless networks), excluding items of 8443, 8525, 8527, or 8528) in chapter 85, 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 8517.61 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 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.