Section XVII · Vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment
Chapter 86: Railway or tramway locomotives, rolling stock and parts thereof; railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; mechanical (including electromechanical) traffic signalling equipment of all kinds
Chapter 86 of the Harmonized System has 9 four-digit headings, from 86.01 to 86.09. Each heading is split further into six-digit subheadings, then into national 8- and 10-digit commodity codes.
Headings in chapter 86
| Heading | Description |
|---|---|
| 86.01 | Rail locomotives powered from an external source of electricity or by electric accumulators |
| 86.02 | Other rail locomotives; locomotive tenders |
| 86.03 | Self-propelled railway or tramway coaches, vans and trucks, other than those of heading 8604 |
| 86.04 | Railway or tramway maintenance or service vehicles, whether or not self-propelled (for example, workshops, cranes, ballast tampers, trackliners, testing coaches and track inspection vehicles) |
| 86.05 | Railway or tramway passenger coaches, not self-propelled; luggage vans, post office coaches and other special purpose railway or tramway coaches, not self-propelled (excluding those of heading 8604) |
| 86.06 | Railway or tramway goods vans and wagons, not self-propelled |
| 86.07 | Parts of railway or tramway locomotives or rolling stock |
| 86.08 | Railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings; mechanical (including electromechanical) signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for railways, tramways, roads, inland waterways, parking facilities, port installations or airfields; parts of the foregoing |
| 86.09 | Containers (including containers for the transport of fluids) specially designed and equipped for carriage by one or more modes of transport |
Classifying goods in chapter 86
Start with the chapter and section notes: they are legally binding and often decide what is included or excluded. Then choose the heading whose wording best describes your product (GRI 1), and work down to the six-digit subheading before choosing the national commodity code.
The six-digit code is shared internationally. The UK and EU add digits for their own tariffs and statistics, and the US uses its own 10-digit HTS lines, so always confirm the final code in the tariff of the country you are importing into.
Official sources
Check chapter 86 in the UK Trade Tariff, the EU TARIC and the US HTS.