HS Code for Televisions: Classification Guide for Importers

If you import televisions, the hs code for televisions is the line your customs entry and origin claim depend on. The Harmonized System is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), comprising more than 5,000 commodity groups, each identified by a six-digit code, and used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their customs tariffs.¹ Heading 8528 holds both television reception apparatus and screens that do not receive television at all. The ordering steps are in how to import televisions from Bangladesh and the inspection points in the televisions quality control checklist.

Quick answer: indicative HS heading (with verify note)

The Harmonised System is a classification system of approximately 5,000 six-digit product categories organised by sections, chapters (2 digits), headings (4 digits) and sub-headings (6 digits).² Televisions sit in Chapter 85, for electrical machinery and equipment. Heading 8528 covers monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception apparatus, and reception apparatus for television, whether or not incorporating radio-broadcast receivers or sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus.³

Verify the product, not the label. A color set is tested against 8528.72, a monochrome set against 8528.73, and a receiver box with no display designed in against 8528.71.³ Treat 8528 as indicative and confirm the full national code before filing.

How HS codes are structured (2-4-6 digits)

Each pair of digits narrows the category: chapter 85 for electrical machinery and equipment, heading 8528 for monitors, projectors and television reception apparatus, then a six-digit subheading by function and display, for example 8528.72 for color television reception apparatus with a display, and a national extension of 8 to 10 digits.²

Countries subdivide the six-digit categories into national subheadings.² The EU Combined Nomenclature uses eight-digit codes, and the current version is HS 2022.² Read the 6-digit HS code guide and hs codes: how to classify your product for the method.

Factors that decide the code for televisions

Television reception, or no television reception. Heading 8528 is split in its own text: one side covers monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception apparatus, and the other side covers reception apparatus for television.³ A display that cannot receive television is a monitor or projector, not a television set.³

Display built in, or no display. Subheading 8528.71 covers reception apparatus not designed to incorporate a video display or screen, 8528.72 covers reception apparatus incorporating a color video display or screen, and 8528.73 covers reception apparatus incorporating a monochrome video display or screen.³ In the United States schedule, 8528.71.20 is the line for set top boxes which have a communications function.⁴

Color or monochrome. For a television with a display, the color test decides between 8528.72 and 8528.73.³ Most consumer televisions are color sets, so 8528.72 is the starting line for a finished color set.

For monitors, tube type and connection to a computer. Subheading 8528.42 covers cathode-ray tube monitors capable of directly connecting to and designed for use with an automatic data processing machine of heading 8471, and 8528.49 covers other cathode-ray tube monitors.³ For other monitors, 8528.52 takes the same computer connection test and 8528.59 covers other monitors, and projectors follow at 8528.62 and 8528.69.³

Screen technology and size matter at national level. The six-digit lines do not split televisions by screen type, but the United States schedule splits 8528.72 by flat panel screen, picture tube type, definition and video display diagonal.⁴ Record display technology, diagonal and any recording function for every model.

Parts and antennas are not televisions. Heading 8529 covers parts suitable for use solely or principally with the apparatus of headings 8524 to 8528.⁴ Inside that heading, 8529.10 covers antennas and antenna reflectors of all kinds, including a television line at 8529.10.21 in the United States schedule, and 8529.90 covers other parts, including printed circuit assemblies of television apparatus.⁴

National codes: US HTS, EU CN/TARIC, UK commodity code

United States: HTS, ten digits. Under 8528.71, the schedule separates set top boxes which have a communications function and printed circuit assemblies incorporating a tuner.⁴ Under 8528.72, it separates color sets by flat panel screen, picture tube type, definition and diagonal, including 8528.72.62 and 8528.72.64 for sets incorporating video recording or reproducing apparatus.⁴ Do not carry a monitor line such as 8528.52.00 across to a television set.

European Union: CN at eight digits, TARIC for measures. The Combined Nomenclature comprises the HS codes with further EU subdivisions and legal notes created to address the needs of the EU, producing eight-digit codes.² Read the eight-digit CN line and the TARIC measures for the entry date and for origin Bangladesh.

United Kingdom: commodity code. The United Kingdom builds its commodity code on the same first six digits, with its own extension after them.² The UK tariff page for subheading 852872, other, colour, lists six ten-digit commodity codes: television projection equipment at 8528 7210 00, apparatus incorporating a video recorder or reproducer at 8528 7220 00, and other apparatus split by screen, with integral tube at 8528 7230 00, a screen of the liquid crystal display (LCD) technology at 8528 7240 00, a screen of the plasma display panel (PDP) technology at 8528 7260 00, and other at 8528 7280 00.⁵ Take the full code from the UK Trade Tariff for your model and entry date.

How to confirm the code officially

1. Write a precise description: reception or no reception, display or no display, color or monochrome, display technology and diagonal, recording function, and product type.

2. Start from the official tariff for the destination: the USITC HTS, TARIC or the UK Trade Tariff, and read the heading text and chapter notes for Chapter 85.

3. Check published rulings for similar products. For the United States, the USITC advises traders to use the Customs Rulings Online Search Service (CROSS), because the correct classification of many items can be found there.⁶

4. For a borderline product, apply for a binding decision before you ship. In the EU, a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) application needs a separate application for each type of product and a detailed description, including images or samples if possible.⁷ In the United Kingdom, a legally binding decision is generally valid for 3 years, through an Advance Tariff Ruling.⁸ In the United States, if the merchandise is not described in any ruling on CROSS, you may request a binding ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.⁶

5. Give your broker the description and the confirmed code for each model, and use the same code throughout the entry.

Common classification mistakes

Filing a monitor as a television. Heading 8528 separates monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception apparatus, from reception apparatus for television.³ A computer monitor with no television reception takes 8528.42 or 8528.49 for a cathode-ray tube monitor and 8528.52 or 8528.59 for another monitor, not 8528.71 to 8528.73.³

Filing a receiver box as a finished television. Subheading 8528.71 covers reception apparatus not designed to incorporate a video display or screen, and 8528.72 covers reception apparatus incorporating a color display.³ A set-top type box with no screen designed in does not take the finished set line.

Filing a monochrome set as color. The display test separates 8528.72, incorporating a color video display or screen, from 8528.73, incorporating a monochrome video display or screen.³ Read the display specification, not the marketing name.

Stopping at six digits. The EU extends the six digits to eight in the Combined Nomenclature,² and the United Kingdom lists six separate ten-digit codes inside 852872 alone, split by projection, recorder function and screen technology.⁵ A six-digit code is a starting point, not a declaration code.

Filing antennas and spare parts under 8528. Antennas and antenna reflectors sit at 8529.10, inside heading 8529 for parts, and other parts of television apparatus sit at 8529.90 in the United States schedule.⁴ Keep parts on their own invoice lines.

Copying a code from another model. The United States schedule splits 8528.72 by screen and recorder function,⁴ and the UK tariff splits 852872 on the same points.⁵ Classify model by model.

Related duties and documents

This guide states no duty rates: the code decides which duty line customs applies, and a rate on a color television line does not carry to a monochrome line, a monitor line or a parts line. Read the rate beside your confirmed code for your origin and entry date, and check what proof of origin a preference claim requires. A binding decision helps you calculate the duties and restrictions that will apply in advance, and alerts you to import or export licensing requirements or quotas that apply to your goods.⁸

Keep the classification file with the shipment documents, with sets, receiver boxes, monitors and parts as separate invoice lines. If a model changes its display or tuner, re-test the code.

FAQs

What is the HS code for televisions?

A television is reception apparatus for television in heading 8528. A color television incorporating a display takes subheading 8528.72, a monochrome television takes 8528.73, and reception apparatus not designed to incorporate a video display or screen takes 8528.71.³ The full declaration code runs to eight digits in the EU and ten digits in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Is the HS code the same in every country?

Only the first six digits are harmonised. Beyond six digits, each system adds its own lines: eight digits in the EU Combined Nomenclature,² and ten in the United States, where the 8528.72 lines split further by screen and diagonal,⁴ and in the United Kingdom, where 852872 splits by screen technology.⁵

How do I confirm the correct code?

Describe the product precisely, read the heading text and chapter notes in the destination tariff, and check published rulings, such as CROSS for the United States.⁶ For a borderline product, apply for a binding decision before shipping: a BTI in the EU,⁷ an Advance Tariff Ruling in the United Kingdom,⁸ or a CBP binding ruling in the United States.⁶

What happens if I use the wrong code?

Duty, licensing and quota treatment are worked out from the code on the declaration, so a wrong code brings the wrong treatment. Taking a binding decision in advance helps you calculate the duties and restrictions that will apply.⁸

Next steps on Exportain

Browse Bangladeshi suppliers on Exportain, a B2B marketplace where supplier profiles carry document and photo review badges, or the electronics, electrical and solar category, and post a free RFQ at Exportain RFQs with the confirmed code per model. The hs code harmonized system explainer is the background read. Exportain is not a party to the goods contract and does not inspect goods, book freight or clear customs.