Directory / Chapter 87
Chapter 87: Vehicles other than railway
Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, together with their parts and accessories.
The 10 codes this site holds in chapter 87
| Code | What it covers | Markets priced | Duty range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 870321 | Cars, petrol engine up to 1000cc | 6 of 6 | 2.5% to 10% |
| 870322 | Cars, petrol engine 1001-1500cc | 5 of 6 | 2.5% to 10% |
| 870323 | Cars, petrol engine 1501-3000cc | 6 of 6 | 2.5% to 10% |
| 870340 | Cars, hybrid petrol and electric, not plug-in | 6 of 6 | 2.5% to 10% |
| 870360 | Cars, plug-in hybrid petrol and electric | 5 of 6 | 2.5% to 10% |
| 870380 | Electric vehicles (battery) | 5 of 6 | 2.5% to 10% |
| 871160 | Electric motorcycles, mopeds and e-scooters | 6 of 6 | 0% to 6% |
| 871200 | Bicycles | 6 of 6 | 5% to 14% |
| 871410 | Parts for motorcycles | 5 of 6 | 0% to 3.7% |
| 871499 | Bicycle parts, other | 4 of 6 | 0% to 4.7% |
Where this chapter ends
Within the passenger car heading the propulsion system splits the subheadings finely, and the presence of any internal combustion engine makes a vehicle a hybrid rather than an electric one. Parts and accessories of vehicles have their own heading, so a component that is not itself a vehicle is usually classified there rather than with the vehicle it fits.
The guides in chapter 87 name 2 codes outside it that goods reach when they turn out not to belong here.
- 850760 (chapter 85): Lithium ion batteries, which take their own heading
- 950300 (chapter 95): Children's tricycles and wheeled toys
What the notes to section XVII say
Chapter 87 sits in section XVII, vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment, which runs from chapter 86 to chapter 89. A section note governs every chapter in its section, so it stands one layer above the note to chapter 87 below and applies before it.
The nomenclature publishes 5 notes to section XVII, and 5 of them reach chapter 87. They are quoted here in full, as published, in the order the nomenclature gives them.
Note 1 to section XVII
This section does not cover articles of heading 9503 or 9508, or bobsleighs, toboggans or the like of heading 9506.
Note 2 to section XVII
The expressions 'parts' and 'parts and accessories' do not apply to the following articles, whether or not they are identifiable as for the goods of this section:
a. joints, washers and the like of any material (classified according to their constituent material or in heading 8484) or other articles of vulcanised rubber other than hard rubber (heading 4016);
b. parts of general use, as defined in Note 2 to Section XV, of base metal (Section XV), or similar goods of plastics (Chapter 39);
c. articles of Chapter 82 (tools);
d. articles of heading 8306;
e. machines or apparatus of heading 8401 to 8479, or parts thereof, other than the radiators for the articles of this Section; articles of heading 8481 or 8482 or, provided they constitute integral parts of engines or motors, articles of heading 8483;
f. electrical machinery or equipment (Chapter 85);
g. articles of Chapter 90;
h. articles of Chapter 91;
ij. arms (Chapter 93);
k. luminaires or lighting fittings and parts thereof of heading 9405;
l. brushes of a kind used as parts of vehicles (heading 9603).
This note names chapter 85, chapter 90, chapter 91, which this site also covers.
Note 3 to section XVII
References in Chapters 86 to 88 to 'parts' or 'accessories' do not apply to parts or accessories which are not suitable for use solely or principally with the articles of those chapters. A part or accessory which answers to a description in two or more of the headings of those chapters is to be classified under that heading which corresponds to the principal use of that part or accessory.
Note 4 to section XVII
For the purposes of this Section:
a. vehicles specially constructed to travel on both road and rail are classified under the appropriate heading of Chapter 87;
b. amphibious motor vehicles are classified under the appropriate heading of Chapter 87;
c. aircraft specially constructed so that they can also be used as road vehicles are classified under the appropriate heading of Chapter 88.
This note names chapter 88, which this site also covers.
Note 5 to section XVII
Air-cushion vehicles are to be classified in this section with the vehicles to which they are most akin as follows:
a. in Chapter 86 if designed to travel on a guide-track (hovertrains);
b. in Chapter 87 if designed to travel over land or over both land and water;
c. in Chapter 89 if designed to travel over water, whether or not able to land on beaches or landing-stages or also able to travel over ice.
Parts and accessories of air-cushion vehicles are to be classified in the same way as those of vehicles of the heading in which the air-cushion vehicles are classified under the above provisions.
Hovertrain track fixtures and fittings are to be classified as railway track fixtures and fittings, and signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for hovertrain transport systems as signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for railways.
The publisher carries 2 further notes to this section under the heading Additional section notes. Those are national notes rather than part of the international text, so they are not quoted here: everything above is the same rule whichever destination a shipment is going to, and an additional note is not.
Read from the section notes published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/17, on 2026-09-08, and read a second time from the chapter endpoint quoted below, which carries the same section note and has to agree with it. Like the chapter and heading notes, a section note is part of the international text of the Harmonized System, so it decides classification and never a rate.
What the nomenclature excludes
The sentence above is this site's summary. This one is not. Note 1 to chapter 87 sets out what this chapter does not cover, and these are its terms as published, with the heading each one sends the goods to. Where a note names a chapter this site also covers, the chapter number is a link.
- railway or tramway rolling-stock designed solely for running on rails
Read from the chapter notes published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/87, on 2026-09-07. The first six digits of that nomenclature are the Harmonized System itself and the notes to a chapter are part of its international text, so this is the same note whichever of this site's destinations a shipment is going to. It decides classification and never a rate.
What the notes say about each heading
The note above governs chapter 87 as a whole. Underneath it the same published notes speak about individual four digit headings, and that is the layer a classification usually turns on. This site holds codes under 4 headings in this chapter. 2 of them are the subject of a numbered note. The notes say nothing about 2 of them, which is the published position rather than a gap here.
| Heading | What the nomenclature calls it | Codes here | What the notes say about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars | 870321 , 870322 , 870323 , 870340 , 870360 , 870380 | Subject of note 3 |
| 8711 | Motorcycles (including mopeds) and cycles fitted with an auxiliary motor, with or without side-cars; side-cars | 871160 | Not named in the chapter notes |
| 8712 | Bicycles and other cycles (including delivery tricycles), not motorised | 871200 | Subject of note 4 |
| 8714 | Parts and accessories of vehicles of headings 8711 to 8713 | 871410 , 871499 | Not named in the chapter notes |
How each of those notes opens, in the words the nomenclature uses. The note in full is on every code page under the heading it governs, which is where a reader deciding a classification is standing.
Note 3 to chapter 87, which takes heading 8703 as its subject
Opening, as published
Motor chassis fitted with cabs fall in heading 8702 to 8704, and not in heading 8706.
Note 3 in full on 870321 , and on every other code this site holds under that heading.
Note 4 to chapter 87, which takes heading 8712 as its subject
Opening, as published
Heading 8712 includes all children's bicycles. Other children's cycles fall in heading 9503.
Note 4 in full on 871200 , and on every other code this site holds under that heading.
Read from the same chapter notes quoted above, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/87, on 2026-09-07, with each heading title read from its own endpoint. The Harmonized System publishes no separate heading notes: its legal text is section notes, chapter notes and subheading notes, and what governs a heading is a chapter note whose subject clause names it. The section notes are quoted at the top of this page, which is the layer above.
What chapter 87 costs to import
The dearest line this site holds in chapter 87 is 871200, bicycles, at 14% into Germany. 5 of the 54 rates charged on value in this chapter are zero. The widest gap between destinations is on 871200, bicycles, which runs from 5% to 14% depending on where it lands.
A destination that prices part of a chapter answers for part of it, so this is how much of chapter 87 each one covers, out of 10 codes.
| Destination | Codes priced | Duty range in this chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 10 of 10 | 3.7% to 14% |
| Portugal | 10 of 10 | 3.7% to 14% |
| United Kingdom | 10 of 10 | 2% to 14% |
| Canada | 9 of 10 | 0% to 13% |
| United States | 9 of 10 | 0% to 11% |
| Australia | 6 of 10 | 0% to 5% |
Third country rates, which is what applies with no trade agreement claimed. Destination tax is charged on top. Each code page carries the reading behind its own figures and the day they were read.