Electrostatic Precipitator HS Code: Where a Kitchen ESP, ESP Hood and Ecology Unit Sit in the Harmonized System, and What Your Broker Needs to Classify Them

An electrostatic precipitator HS code is the six-digit Harmonized System subheading, extended by each importing country into its own tariff line, under which customs classifies the unit. The HS 2022 text points a complete in-duct unit to 8421.39; search results add codes repeated from past declarations. Describe the unit to your broker and settle the line before the proforma invoice.

This page helps you decide what to send your customs broker, so that an electrostatic precipitator, ESP hood or ecology unit from China can be classified before you order. It also helps you decide whether to ask for an advance ruling first, and whether an ESP hood or a canopy with an in-duct ESP changes the line. It does not give a final code, a duty rate or the full import requirements of any market. For what a quotation from us states, see what an electrostatic precipitator quotation contains. For the documents that travel with the goods, see the ESP pre-shipment inspection.

Why one electrostatic precipitator turns up under different codes

The codes differ for three reasons. The Harmonized System fixes six digits worldwide, and each country adds its own digits below them. Shipment-record listings repeat whatever was declared, which may be a part rather than a complete unit. None of these codes is a classification of your unit.

The Harmonized System is maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO). Each commodity group carries a six-digit code, and the WCO states that more than 200 countries and economies use the system as the basis for their customs tariffs. Below six digits, the lines are national. The US and UK tariffs run to ten digits; the Australian tariff runs to eight digits plus a statistical code. The same electrostatic precipitator can share six digits in every market and still carry a different full line in each.

When we searched “electrostatic precipitator hs code” on Google India on 9 October 2026, the first page of results showed at least five different codes. All but 8421.39 appeared only in shipment-record listings; 8421.39 also came up on a tariff-lookup page. A listing repeats what an importer or exporter declared, not what the heading text describes.

Two of those codes show why a listing is a lead, not an answer. In the HS 2022 text of Chapter 85, subheading 8546.20 is electrical insulators of ceramics. In the HS 2022 text of Chapter 84, subheading 8421.99 is the “Other” line under the parts of heading 84.21. An insulator or a spare part declared for an electrostatic precipitator can carry the product name in its description. Neither subheading describes a complete unit.

A dedicated line exists in only some tariffs. Of the national tariffs we read, the US is the only one that names electrostatic precipitators on a line of their own: 8421.39.0120, under “Industrial gas cleaning equipment”. A separate US line covers dust collection and air purification equipment. The UK and Australian tariffs place them under “Other” lines of 8421.39. A request for “the ESP code” therefore has a different answer in each market; the lines are set out under national tariffs below.

Who decides the code, and on what

Customs in the importing country decides the code. Your broker declares a line on the basis of the heading text, and an advance ruling, where you ask for one, makes the answer binding before the goods arrive. No electrostatic precipitator HS code from the supplier or from a search settles it.

The order in which the text is read is fixed by the General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System. Rule 1 puts the terms of the headings and the Section and Chapter Notes first; section and chapter titles are for reference only. For machinery, the Section XVI Notes then deal with composite machines, functional units and parts. The WCO’s official interpretation is in the Explanatory Notes, sold by subscription, so your broker may hold them when you do not.

Where an order holds only in-duct ESP units, Rule 1 and the heading text carry the decision; hoods, ecology units and separately shipped spares bring in the other rules.

These are our paraphrases of the rules; your broker reads the WCO text in full.

Customs can also change its own answer. In ruling HQ 960993 of 1999, the US Customs Service (now US Customs and Border Protection, CBP) classified an air ionizer under heading 84.21 instead of 85.43. It quoted the Explanatory Note to 84.21, which covers filters and purifiers of all types, electrostatic among them, and held 84.21 the more specific heading. It also revoked ruling HQ 082701 of 1988, which had not considered heading 84.21. The subheading numbers in that ruling have since changed; what carries over is the reasoning, not the number.

You can ask for the answer before you order. The WCO describes advance rulings as decisions on classification made before importation, based on legally binding rulings. In the US, CBP issues binding advance rulings, including on tariff classification. In Great Britain, an HMRC Advance Tariff Ruling is a legally binding decision on the commodity code. Elsewhere, ask your broker what the national customs offers.

The code on the supplier’s export declaration is a reference, not a ruling. That declaration is made to Chinese customs, under China’s tariff, and it does not bind the importing country. National tariffs are built on the six-digit HS, so its first six digits can be compared with your broker’s line; the digits after that are China’s own. Ask the supplier which code it expects to declare for export, or used on an earlier shipment of the same model, and pass it on labeled as a reference.

The 8-Line ESP Tariff Classification Sheet

For the filtering units on an electrostatic precipitator order, the HS 2022 heading text points to 8421.39. A hood with its own fan brings in heading 84.14, and spares or consumables shipped on their own follow their own headings.

Eight lines cover the items this page deals with: in-duct LK and LK-E units, HME ESP hoods, UV and activated carbon modules, three-stage ecology units, and their spares and consumables. For another model, ask us for its datasheet and describe it to your broker the same way. Each line names where the text points and the rule that decides it. The last column is what your broker needs from you to apply that rule.

The 8-Line ESP Tariff Classification Sheet — our own working sheet, not a customs ruling or an industry standard. It maps eight items on a kitchen ESP order to the HS 2022 text. IF the unit only filters and purifies the exhaust air, THEN the heading text points to 8421.39. IF it is a hood with its own fan, THEN heading 84.14 names it, and the broker decides whether its filtering function points to 84.21. Either way, the importing country’s customs makes the call, through your broker.

This sheet shows where the HS 2022 heading text points for each item we ship. It does not classify your consignment; the importing country’s customs does, through your broker or an advance ruling.

Lines 3, 7 and 8 bring in headings outside 84.21: 85.43 for the UV module, 85.04 for the power supply, and 85.39 and 38.02 for the consumables. The text of heading 85.04, heading 85.39 and heading 85.43 is in the Chapter 85 file linked above; activated carbon is in the HS 2022 text of Chapter 38. Three groups of lines need a decision on your side.

• Line 2, the hood. The hood question has its own section below, because a hood that carries its own fan is described by two headings at once.
• Line 5, the ecology unit. Shipping in modules does not by itself split the unit into separate entries when all modules are presented together. Rule 2(a) covers an article presented unassembled, and Section XVI Note 4 covers components that serve one function. Tell the broker the modules form one unit and whether they ship in one consignment. Whether a fan supplied with it belongs to the functional unit or goes on its own line is the broker’s call; say whether it is in the supply.
• Lines 6 to 8, spares and consumables. Put each on its own invoice line with its own description. A line that reads only “spare parts” gives the broker nothing to classify. On line 8, a filled carbon cartridge is a different article from loose carbon, so say which one ships.

ESP hood or filter: when heading 84.14 comes into play

Subheading 8414.60 fits only a hood whose maximum horizontal side does not exceed 120 cm. Our HME hoods carry their own fan and run 1,500 to 2,400 mm long on the datasheet. Heading 84.14 names hoods incorporating a fan “whether or not fitted with filters”, so it is the first heading a broker reads for them. Whether the electrostatic cells make filtering the principal function, under Section XVI Note 3, is the broker’s judgment; we found no published ruling on an ESP hood.

A hood for a restaurant kitchen is not excluded for being commercial. In ruling HQ 950295 of 1991, US Customs quoted the Explanatory Note to 84.14. That note includes cooker hoods incorporating a fan for use in the home or in restaurants, canteens and hospitals. The same ruling kept the article in question out of 8414.60 because it did not incorporate a hood. Customs applied the subheading’s words as written.

An ESP hood does two things. It captures the plume at the cookline, and its electrostatic cells collect grease and smoke from the air it draws in. Section XVI Note 3 classifies a machine performing two or more complementary functions by its principal function. A broker who finds filtering to be the principal function would look at heading 84.21 instead of 84.14.

Rule 6 applies only inside the heading chosen. Within 84.14, a hood with a horizontal side over 120 cm falls outside 8414.60. In ruling NY N337346 (2024), CBP placed a 48-inch vent hood with two fans and a filter in heading 84.14 under the fans subheading 8414.59, not under 8414.80 “Other”. Which subheading applies is your broker’s call.

IF the hood has its own fan and a horizontal side over 120 cm, THEN 8414.60 does not describe it. Heading 84.14 still names it, and the broker decides the subheading, or whether filtering points to 84.21.

Reading the text against the hood stops short of choosing the heading: that judgment is your broker’s.

The hood is a product decision with a customs side. A project may be able to use either an ESP hood or a plain canopy with an in-duct ESP. The line can differ between the two routes, so ask the broker about both before the route is fixed. The HME dimensions are in the model tables on the ESP hood product page.

What national tariffs add below the six digits, and what the line triggers at import

Each country splits 8421.39 its own way: of the tariffs we read, only the US names electrostatic precipitators, on an industrial gas-cleaning line. The line your broker declares is also what import permits, standards marks and duty attach to.

IF you import into a market below, THEN hand your broker the line we read as a starting point, to be confirmed in the current tariff.

This table gives the lines as printed on the dates shown. It does not give duty rates, which follow the line and the origin of the goods and can change with trade agreements. Ask your broker for the duty and import taxes on the line before you compare a landed cost. Whether a certificate of origin can lower the rate on the line, and at which ports no form changes it, is set out in our electrostatic precipitator certificate of origin guide.

Reading the line is half the job; the other half is what it triggers. In the Turkey and Mexico rows, the permit or the mark attaches to the declared line, and each country page sets out the steps. The hood and purifier lines on those two lists are household lines, which does not show that a commercial unit is free of requirements. A unit declared under 8421.39.25.90.00 in Turkey is on the machinery pre-permit list. Which line a commercial unit is declared under is your broker’s classification.

The words on the invoice are part of what the broker classifies. A description that reads only “air purifier” or “range hood” invites a broker to look at household lines. Name the use, commercial kitchen exhaust, and the principle, electrostatic precipitation, as the next section does.

The text itself changes on 1 January 2028, when the HS 2028 edition enters into force. We searched the published amendment text, and it does not change headings 84.14 or 84.21. National lines can still be renumbered when tariffs move to the new edition. For goods declared from 2028, have your broker read the line again in the tariff in force on that date.

What to send your broker: the ESP Broker Description Block

Send a description the broker can classify without seeing the unit. It covers what the unit does, how it works, whether it has a fan, its largest horizontal dimension, its stages, its airflow and supply, and the model numbers on the proforma invoice. The supplier’s export code goes in last, labeled as a reference.

ESP Broker Description Block: nine fields to copy into the email to your broker, filled from the proforma invoice and the datasheet. IF a field cannot be filled from those two documents, THEN ask the supplier for it before the broker classifies, BECAUSE each field answers one of the rules above.

The block feeds the broker’s decision without making it; an advance ruling is what makes a line binding.

Fields 1 to 8 come from the proforma invoice and the datasheet. Our quotations include the datasheet and the certificate copies for the quoted models, as listed on our quotation page. Row 8 of the inputs on that page names the importer of record, which is where your broker comes in.

Certificate copies travel with the shipping documents, as listed on our electrostatic precipitator supplier profile, and each covers only the models it names (see our ESP certifications page). Put the description and the line your broker settled on the commercial invoice; checking the copies against the shipped models is row 9 of the ESP pre-shipment inspection.

Whether the factory behind those documents is the manufacturer is a separate check. The steps, from the business license to the certificate holder, are in how to verify a Chinese ESP manufacturer.

Scope and limits

Settling the code clears only the first of three layers, and each layer clears on its own.

• Layer one, classification: the heading text, the rules, the national line and your broker’s declaration or an advance ruling. This layer does not show that an import permit, a standards mark or a label requirement is met. Take the line your broker settled and check what it triggers in your market; Turkey and Mexico above are two examples.
• Layer two, import requirements: permits, conformity assessment, labeling, duty and taxes. This page does not cover them. Ask your broker to confirm them in writing before the proforma invoice is signed.
• Layer three, the site: installation, electrical inspection and any discharge permit. These belong to the project and the local authority. Hand them to your contractor and keep them in a separate record from the classification.

Passing one layer does not clear the next. This page covers layer one only.

• No duty rate is given. It follows the line and the origin of the goods; your broker confirms it.
• No final code is given for any item. The sheet shows where the text points; customs decides.
• No national line is given for the EU, India, China, Singapore or the GCC states. Ask your broker to read it in the national tariff.
• The Explanatory Notes are quoted only as US Customs quoted them in 1991 and 1999. The current text is sold by the WCO by subscription; your broker may hold it.
• No published CBP ruling on a commercial kitchen ESP or ESP hood was found. The nearest concern hoods (NY N337346, NY R04780, HQ 950295) and air purifiers or ionizers (NY N338026, NY R01167, HQ 960993). They are cited for their reasoning, not as rulings on your goods.
• From 1 January 2028 the HS 2028 edition applies. Have the line read again for goods declared from that date.

Buyer record and key takeaways

Five lines go into the project file with the quotation.

• Before you ask for a quotation: the destination country, the importer of record and the broker who will declare the goods.
• Send your broker: the ESP Broker Description Block, filled from the draft proforma invoice and the datasheet, with the line of The 8-Line ESP Tariff Classification Sheet that each item belongs to.
• Ask the supplier for: the datasheets with the dimensions, the certificate copies that name the quoted models, and the code it expects to declare for export, or used on an earlier shipment of the same model, as a reference.
• Ask your broker for: the line, the duty and taxes on it, what it triggers at import, and whether an advance ruling is worth applying for.
• Re-check when: the destination changes, a model changes, a hood with a fan replaces a canopy, the ecology unit ships in modules instead of assembled, or the goods are declared on or after 1 January 2028.

Key takeaways

• Source: an electrostatic precipitator HS code comes from the heading text and the rules, not from a code repeated in a shipment-record listing.
• Who decides: the importing country’s customs, through your broker or an advance ruling, not the supplier’s export declaration.
• In-duct units: The 8-Line ESP Tariff Classification Sheet points them to 8421.39 at six digits, not to one ten-digit code valid in every market.
• Hoods: a fan hood with a side over 120 cm is outside 8414.60 but still named by heading 84.14; the text decides, not the word “hood”.
• Spares: separately shipped spares and consumables follow their own headings, not the unit’s line.

Frequently asked questions

What is the HS code for an electrostatic precipitator?

The HS 2022 heading text points a complete in-duct unit to subheading 8421.39, filtering or purifying apparatus for gases, but the importing country’s customs decides the final line. There is no single code for every market. The US tariff names electrostatic precipitators on line 8421.39.0120, under “Industrial gas cleaning equipment”. It also has an air-purification line, 8421.39.0115, so your broker chooses between them. The UK and Australian tariffs place electrostatic precipitators under “Other” lines; ask your broker to confirm the line in your own tariff.

Is an ESP hood classified under 8414.60?

Only if heading 84.14 is chosen and the hood’s maximum horizontal side does not exceed 120 cm. A hood with its own fan that is longer than that is outside 8414.60. Heading 84.14 still names hoods with a fan whether or not fitted with filters, and the broker decides the subheading, or whether the filtering function points to 84.21. Give the broker the largest dimension from the datasheet, and state that the fan is built in.

Can I use the HS code on the supplier’s export declaration?

Use it as a reference, not as the import line. The export declaration is made to Chinese customs and does not bind the importing country. Its first six digits can be compared with your broker’s line; if they differ, declare the broker’s line and record why.

Do spare parts and UV lamps go under the same code as the unit?

Not when they are shipped on their own. A part that is a good of its own heading goes to that heading. A spare power supply is checked against 8504.40, UV lamps against 8539.49 and loose activated carbon against 3802.10. Spare collector cells point to the parts line 8421.99. Put each on its own invoice line.

Can the code be confirmed before I order?

Yes, through an advance ruling where the importing country offers one. CBP in the US and HMRC in Great Britain issue binding rulings on classification before import. Ask your broker whether a ruling is worth applying for on a first order, an ESP hood with its own fan or an ecology unit shipped in modules.

Ready to brief your customs broker?

Classifying an electrostatic precipitator or ecology unit order for import? Send us the destination country and the models on your quotation. You get back the datasheets with the dimensions and the certificate copies that name those models: the material for fields 1 to 8 of the ESP Broker Description Block. With them, your broker can place each item on The 8-Line ESP Tariff Classification Sheet and settle the line.

Still preparing the inquiry? Start from the ten inputs on our electrostatic precipitator quotation page: row 8 names the importer of record, and the broker’s line follows from there.

Send the destination and models →

Why we write this. We prepare the documents an importer’s broker works from. Buyers at that point search for the HS code for an electrostatic precipitator or a kitchen hood, and ask who decides the code and whether the export-declaration code can be used. This page answers both from the published tariff texts and lists what to send the broker. This guide does not size or configure equipment; sizing and quotation live on the product pages.

References & further reading

1. World Customs Organization, What is the Harmonized System (HS): six-digit codes, used by more than 200 countries and economies as the basis for their customs tariffs; the Explanatory Notes as the official interpretation, by subscription. wcoomd.org (what is the HS)
2. World Customs Organization, HS Nomenclature 2022 Edition: General Interpretative Rules; Section XVI Notes; Chapter 84 (headings 84.14 and 84.21); Chapter 85 (headings 85.04, 85.39, 85.43, 85.46); Chapter 38 (heading 38.02).
3. World Customs Organization: HS 2028 amendments, effective 1 January 2028, and the amendment text (NG0304Ba) searched for headings 84.14 and 84.21; Advance rulings for classification.
4. National tariffs, read 9 October 2026: US International Trade Commission, Harmonized Tariff Schedule (2026 Revision 20); UK Integrated Online Tariff, 8421 39 25 90 and 8414 60 00 00; Australian Border Force, Working Tariff, Chapter 84; European Commission, TARIC consultation (where to look; not read here). The Indian customs tariff (CBIC) and the Chinese customs tariff are named, not linked: their line text was not read.
5. US Customs and Border Protection, rulings database (the 1991 and 1999 rulings were issued by the US Customs Service): HQ 960993 (1999), air ionizer, heading 84.21 preferred to 85.43; HQ 950295 (1991), Explanatory Note to 84.14 on cooker hoods incorporating a fan; NY N337346 (2024), 48-inch vent hood with two fans and a filter, heading 84.14, subheading 8414.59; NY R04780 (2006), range hood kit without blower, parts line 8414.90; NY N338026 (2024), air purifiers, 8421.39.0115; NY R01167 (2004), in-duct ozone purifier with UV and corona-discharge models, 8421.39; Rulings and legal decisions.
6. HM Revenue & Customs: Apply for an Advance Tariff Ruling (GOV.UK, updated 2 June 2026).

Related reading

• Electrostatic precipitator quotation — the ten inputs to send, including the importer of record your broker declares for.
• Electrostatic precipitator pre-shipment inspection — the checks before the balance, and the shipping documents that carry the description and the line.
• How to verify a Chinese ESP manufacturer — the checks that show the factory issuing the documents is the one that builds the units.
• Electrostatic precipitator supplier — our terms, the markets we have shipped to, and the certificate copies that travel with the goods.