Chapter 87 — Vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof 4-digit heading

87.03 Motor cars and other motor vehicles; principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading no. 8702), including station wagons and racing cars

One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.

Section XVII, Vehicles & Transport — railway stock, road vehicles, aircraft, ships and transport equipment.

  1. 87 Chapter Vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof
  2. 03 Heading Motor cars and other motor vehicles; principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading no. 8702), including station wagons and racing cars
  3. —— Subheading Pick one of the 14 six-digit codes below

Chapter 87 covers vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof: cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers and tractors. Vehicle classification typically depends on engine type, seating capacity and cargo function, each of which maps to a different subheading and duty rate. Classification tip: Electric and hybrid vehicles are classified under the same broad headings as internal-combustion vehicles but split into their own subheadings by propulsion type, and EV import incentives vary widely by country, so check current schedules rather than assuming parity with combustion-engine duty rates.

All of chapter 87

The 14 six-digit codes under 87.03

One of these is the number you declare.

Other headings in chapter 87

87.01 Tractors; (other than tractors of heading no 8709) 87.02 Vehicles; public transport passenger type 87.04 Vehicles; for the transport of goods 87.05 Special purpose motor vehicles; not those for the transport of persons or goods (e.g. breakdown lorries, road sweeper lorries, spraying lorries, mobile workshops, mobile radiological units etc) 87.06 Chassis; fitted with engines, for the motor vehicles of heading no. 8701 to 8705 87.07 Bodies; (including cabs) for the motor vehicles of heading no. 8701 to 8705 87.08 Motor vehicles; parts and accessories, of heading no. 8701 to 8705 87.09 Works trucks, self-propelled, (not fitted with lifting or handling equipment), for factories, warehouses etc, for short distance transport of goods, tractors used on railway station platforms; parts thereof 87.10 Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles; motorised, whether or not fitted with weapons, and parts of such vehicles 87.11 Motorcycles (including mopeds) and cycles; fitted with an auxiliary motor, with or without side-cars; side-cars 87.12 Bicycles and other cycles; including delivery tricycles, not motorised 87.13 Carriages for disabled persons; whether or not motorised or otherwise mechanically propelled 87.14 Vehicles; parts and accessories of heading no. 8711 to 8713 87.15 Baby carriages and parts thereof 87.16 Trailers and semi-trailers; other vehicles, not mechanically propelled; 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 under 87.03? 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

87.03 FAQ

Heading 87.03 covers motor cars and other motor vehicles; principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading no. 8702), including station wagons and racing cars. It is part of chapter 87 (vehicles; other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof), and it is subdivided into 14 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.

Pick one of the 14 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 XVII and to chapter 87. 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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