HS Code Detail
853180 Chapter 85 · Electronics Sound and visual signalling apparatus, other
Six-digit subheading in Electronics, chapter 85 of the Harmonized System, priced here for 2 destination markets.
Anatomy of 853180
You will declare against a longer local code that begins 853180: ten digits in most national tariffs, eight in the European Union, and the first six the same everywhere. Which trailing digits apply is what a rate can differ on, though on this subheading all 2 destinations below charge the same, 0%.
What this code covers
Import duty by country
MFN duty rate · 2 countries| Country | Duty | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺Australia | 0% | 10% |
| 🇨🇦Canada | 0% | 5% |
Rates shown are MFN (Most Favoured Nation), the default for WTO members. Preferential FTA rates may be lower with valid proof of origin. Section 301 / anti-dumping surcharges on Chinese-origin goods are not included.
What that costs: 853180 into Australia
An illustrative consignment of 853180 invoiced at AUD 2,000.00, priced in AUD because a threshold is set in the destination's currency and nothing here is converted.
| Goods value on the invoice | AUD 2,000.00 |
| International freight | AUD 120.00 |
| Cargo insurance | AUD 30.00 |
| Value the duty is charged on, FOB basis | AUD 2,000.00 |
| Duty at 0% | AUD 0.00 |
| Australia tax at 10%, charged on the value plus the duty | AUD 215.00 |
| Total, before commercial charges | AUD 2,365.00 |
And if the consignment were small
Australia relieves customs duty, GST and the Import Processing Charge on consignments at or under AUD 1,000. The 853180 shipment above is over that, so its duty is charged in full. The same code invoiced at exactly AUD 1,000 with no freight would be charged AUD 0.00 of duty and AUD 0.00 of tax, a total of AUD 1,000.00. The rate on the 853180 row has not changed; only the charge is relieved. The tax is not simply absent at that value: Australia collects it on the sale instead of at the border, so an overseas seller or marketplace above the registration threshold charges it at checkout. What the relief removes is the charge on arrival, not the tax.
Selling rather than buying? AUD 2,365.00 is what your buyer in Australia pays to take delivery of this consignment, yours to pay if you quote DDP and theirs if you quote DAP: Exporting to Australia sets out who collects it and what your invoice has to say.
An illustration, not a quotation: broker fees, handling and any trade remedy on the origin sit outside it. Price 853180 on your own numbers in the duty calculator.
How these rates were verified
Rates last verified 7 September 2026Every figure in the table above was read from the official tariff database of the market that charges it, on the date shown. Nothing here is copied from another aggregator.
- 🇨🇦CA
- MFN for 853180 CA, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/html/00/ch85-eng.html and again on 2026-09-07 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/menu-eng.html. Both returned 0%. The Canada Border Services Agency is the only body that publishes this schedule. The Department of Justice publishes the Act and refers readers to the Agency for the schedule itself, so both readings are the Agency's, taken from two different products. Retrieved text: 8531.80.00 Free
- 🇦🇺AU
- MFN for 853180 AU, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/tariff-classification/current-tariff/schedule-3/section-xvi/chapter-85 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04997/latest/text. Both returned 0%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 8531.80.00 Free
Markets with no figure recorded
United States: United States splits 8531.80 into 2 tariff lines and they do not carry the same rate: the schedule returned 0 to 1.3%. A single percentage cannot represent that honestly, so no United States figure is recorded and the calculator falls back to its disclosed category average.
United Kingdom: No United Kingdom figure is recorded for 8531.80. Only one of the two official readings completed, and one reading has never been enough here. The page shows no rate for this market rather than an unsourced one.
Germany: No Germany figure is recorded for 8531.80. Neither official reading completed. The page shows no rate for this market rather than an unsourced one.
Portugal: No Portugal figure is recorded for 8531.80. Neither official reading completed. The page shows no rate for this market rather than an unsourced one.
Re-check first: Canada and Australia both charge nothing on the residual signalling line, which makes classification the live question rather than the rate: burglar and fire alarms are 8531.10 and indicator panels are 8531.20. No United Kingdom figure is recorded because only one of the two readings completed.
What falls under 853180
- Electric sound or visual signalling apparatus other than burglar or fire alarms
- Doorbells, chimes, buzzers, indicator panels and warning beacons
What's specifically excluded
These look similar but belong under a different code:
Commonly confused with
853110: Burglar and fire alarms
Heading 8531 separates alarms from other signalling apparatus, so a doorbell is 8531.80 and a smoke alarm or intruder alarm is 8531.10. The purpose of the signal decides it: warning of danger or intrusion on one side, ordinary notification on the other.
852580: Video doorbells
A doorbell with a camera and a network connection is a composite article and is resolved on principal function. Where the camera and the app are the reason the product exists rather than the chime, it has been argued out of 8531 entirely, and these devices are genuinely contested.
Classification & cost note
Heading 8531 covers apparatus whose purpose is to signal, and it splits alarms from everything else at the subheading level. The interesting cases now are all composite. A video doorbell contains a chime, a camera, a microphone and a network radio, and classifying it means deciding which of those gives the article its essential character, with the answer differing between a simple wired chime with a lens and a device sold on its app and cloud recording. Similar reasoning applies to smart home hubs that also signal. Where a product is genuinely a combination and no single function dominates, the rule sending goods to the last heading in numerical order among those equally meriting consideration is the fallback, and it is worth reaching a considered position before shipping rather than after a query.
Typical products: Wired and wireless doorbells and chimes · Buzzers and electric bells · Indicator and annunciator panels · Warning beacons and strobe lights · Audible signalling devices for machinery · Call systems and paging indicators
What the notes to section XVI say
Chapter 85 sits in section XVI, machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical equipment; parts thereof, sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles, where a section note governs every chapter in the section and applies before the heading notes below; the 6 reaching chapter 85 name no heading this site holds a code under, and they are quoted whole on the chapter 85 page, read from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/16 on 2026-09-08.
What the nomenclature says about heading 8531
853180 is a subheading of 8531, electric sound or visual signalling apparatus (for example, bells, sirens, indicator panels, burglar or fire alarms), other than those of heading 8512 or 8530 , and it is the only code this site holds under that heading.
No numbered note to chapter 85 takes heading 8531 as its subject, which is what the published notes say rather than a gap on this page: the heading is defined by its own wording above and by the note to the chapter, quoted in full on the chapter 85 page.
Read from the notes to chapter 85 published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/85, with the heading title from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/headings/8531, on 2026-09-07, with the whole layer and the reason a heading note is a chapter note set out on the chapter 85 page. These notes are part of the international text of the Harmonized System, so the rule is the same whichever destination a shipment is going to, and it decides classification and never a rate.
Questions about 853180
Are smoke alarms classified here?
No. Heading 8531 puts burglar and fire alarms in their own subheading, 8531.10, and this residual line covers other signalling apparatus such as doorbells, buzzers and indicator panels.
Where does a video doorbell sit?
It is genuinely contested. The device combines a chime, a camera, a microphone and a network radio, so it is resolved on essential character, and a product sold on its app and cloud recording is arguable out of heading 8531.
What if no single function dominates?
The fallback rule sends the goods to the last heading in numerical order among those equally meriting consideration. It is worth reaching a considered position before shipping rather than after a customs query.
Related codes in Chapter 85
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