top of page
Writer's pictureArne Mielken

Classification Guide (HS 88) - Aircraft Parts & Drones

Classifying drones and aircraft parts for import and export. Get help to classify drones and aircraft parts for import and export.


WCO 2022 - Classification

This guidance refers to chapters and headings in the WCO HS 2022. It is classified to six digits only and is not country-specific. It aims to provide support to customs managers involved in classifying products for customs purposes.


Classification under Chapter 88


Heading 8801 covers:


  • balloons and dirigibles

  • gliders

  • hang gliders

  • other non-powered aircraft


Heading 8802 covers:


  • other aircraft (for example, helicopters, aeroplanes)

  • spacecraft (including satellites) and suborbital and spacecraft launch vehicles

8806 & Drones

Heading 8806 covers unmanned aircraft.

Multi-rotor helicopters (drones) are classified under heading 8806. They may be designed to:

  • carry a payload

  • be equipped with permanently integrated digital cameras

They may use other equipment for utilitarian functions, such as:

  • the carriage of cargo or passengers

  • aerial photography

  • agricultural or scientific work

  • rescue duties

  • fire-fighting

  • surveillance

  • military purposes

Drones that have the character of toys or recreational models are classified under heading 9503.


They:

  • are generally lightweight

  • can only fly at a limited height and distance

  • have a low maximum speed

  • are unable to:

  • fly autonomously

  • carry a load or cargo

Aircraft parts


Aircraft parts are classified under heading 8807. They must be essential for the operation of an aircraft, and identifiable for use solely or principally with aircraft classified under either of these headings.



Items classified as parts under heading 8807

To be classified as a part of an aircraft, a product must:


  • be suitable for use solely or principally with the articles of chapter 88

  • not be more specifically included elsewhere in the nomenclature

  • not be excluded by the terms of note 2 to section XVII which excludes certain goods from chapter 88, such as:

  • all articles of headings 8306, 8401 to 8479

  • all articles of chapters 85, 90 and 91

  • parts of general use which include, nuts, bolts, and washers

Items classified as parts under heading 8807 usually include:

  • fuselages and their sections

  • hulls and their sections

  • internal parts of fuselages and hulls including:

  • radomes

  • tail cones

  • fairings

  • panels

  • partitions

  • luggage compartments

  • floors

  • instrument panels

  • frames

  • doors

  • escape chutes

  • slides

  • windows

  • port-holes

  • wings and their components including:

  • spars

  • ribs

  • cross-members

  • control surfaces, whether or not movable, including:

  • ailerons

  • slats

  • spoilers

  • flaps

  • elevators

  • rudders

  • stabilisers

  • servo-tabs

  • nacelles

  • cowlings

  • engine pods

  • pylons

  • undercarriages including:

  • brakes

  • brake assemblies

  • retracting equipment

  • wheels (with or without tyres)

  • propellers (airscrews)

  • blades and pitch control mechanisms for propellers

  • control levers

  • control columns

  • fuel tanks

  • auxiliary fuel tanks

Items covered by a heading are classified there, and not as parts under 8807, for example:

  • safety glass — heading 7007

  • aircraft seats — heading 9401

Items not classified as parts and excluded from heading 8807

  • Classification of rubber hoses

Classified under chapter 40.

For exampl,e hoses with fittings for aircraft are classified under heading 4009 and gaskets and seals of vulcanised rubber are classified under heading 4016

  • Classification of gaskets and similar joints of metal sheeting, combined with other materials

Classified under heading 8484. If the goods are made of a single layer of one metal, they will be classified under the heading covering that specific metal.

  • Classification of items of hard rubber

Classified under heading 4017.

  • Classification of polyolefin

Classified under chapter 39. Electrical insulating materials such as heat shrink polyolefin tubing with no electrical connections are classified according to their constituent material.

  • Classification of paints, adhesives, fillers and mastics

Classified under their respective headings under chapter 32.

  • Classification of turbojets, turbo propellers and other gas turbine parts

Classified under heading 8411.


  • Classification of automatic data processing machines

Classified under heading 8471. The heading covers computers commonly found at home or in offices which include standard operating systems, software and storage, such as:

  • laptops

  • desktops

  • tablets

Many products have a microprocessor or work with a computer but perform a specific function apart from data processing. These products are excluded from heading 8471 and are classified in the heading which covers the products’ function, for example, navigational equipment which is classified under heading 9014. Legally binding note 6 to chapter 84 of the tariff outlines which automatic data-processing machines are classified under heading 8471.


  • Classification of radios for radio broadcasting — reception only

Classified under heading 8527.

  • Classification of radios — reception and transmission

Classified under heading 8517.


  • Classification of radio navigation equipment including GPS systems

Classified under heading 8526.


  • Classification of passenger handsets for selecting and controlling

Classified under heading 8537 (subheading 8537 10).


For example:

  • audio and video equipment

  • game consoles

  • Classification of parts of goods classified under chapters 84 or 85

  • They will often be classified under the appropriate heading in chapter 84 or 85, but there are exceptions. The legally binding note 2 to section XV of the tariff:


Other navigational instruments and appliances including Sonar

Classified under heading 9014.


Classification of measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines including test sets

Classified under chapter 90.


Classification of general test benches or test sets

Classified under heading 9031.


Made up of a frame with a measuring or calibrating instrument used to test, for example:

  • engines

  • motors

  • electrical generators

  • speed indicators

  • tachometers

If checking a specific parameter, the goods will be classified elsewhere in the chapter, for example, goods measuring or checking voltage will be classified under heading 9030.


  • Parts and accessories of goods are classified under Chapter 90

They will typically be classified under the appropriate heading in Chapter 90, but there are exceptions. Read legally binding note 2 to chapter 90 of the tariff (see above).


  • Classification of flight simulators

Classified under heading 8805. Flight simulators mounted on a motor vehicle, chassis, or trailer are classified under heading 8705 or 8716 depending on the specific features and capabilities of the simulator. Parts and accessories of simulators will be classified under Chapter 87 (when mounted on a vehicle) or under Chapter 88 (when classified under heading 8805), but there are exceptions. Read legally binding notes 2 and 3 to section XVII of the tariff.


  • Classification of printed circuit boards

Classified according to their function or as a part of the goods they’re designed for use with, generally classified under chapter 85 or 90.


  • Classification of carpets and other floor coverings, of textile or rubber, cut to shape or not

These are classified under either:


Chapter 57 if made of textile material

Chapter 40 is made of rubber


Articles provided or sold onboard are classified under their respective headings, for example:

  • aftershave

  • perfume

  • sun creams


431 views0 comments

Comentarios


bottom of page