Chapter
Chapter 90: Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof
32 headings make up chapter 90, part of section XVIII, optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; clocks and watches; musical instruments; parts and accessories thereof.
Duty rates compared
UK Free – 4% Third-country duty 255 tariff lines · average 0.3% 
EU Free – 6.7% Third-country duty 215 tariff lines · average 1.1% 
Türkiye Free – 6.7% Third-country duty 348 tariff lines · average 1.8% 
USA Free – 16% General (MFN) 302 tariff lines · average 1% · 6× specific or compound duty 
Canada Free – 8.5% Third-country duty 241 tariff lines · average 0.7% 
Mexico Free – 25% Third-country duty 305 tariff lines · average 3.4% 
Brazil Free – 20% Third-country duty 372 tariff lines · average 13.1% 
Argentina Free – 20% Third-country duty 920 tariff lines · average 12.8% 
Peru Free – 6% Third-country duty 213 tariff lines · average 0.8% 
New Zealand Free – 5% Third-country duty 240 tariff lines · average 0.6% · 1× specific or compound duty 
Japan Free – 5.3% Third-country duty 174 tariff lines · average 0.2% 
Taiwan Free – 10% Third-country duty 323 tariff lines · average 1.3% 
GCC Free – 5% Third-country duty 349 tariff lines · average 4.1% 
Switzerland Free Third-country duty 143 tariff lines 
Norway Free Third-country duty 150 tariff lines 
North Macedonia Free – 15% Third-country duty 218 tariff lines · average 2.1% 
Nigeria Free – 20% Third-country duty 147 tariff lines · average 8% Headings 32
- 9001Optical fibres and optical fibre bundles; optical fibre cables other than those of heading 8544; sheets and plates of polarising material; lenses (including contact lenses), prisms, mirrors and other optical elements, of any material, unmounted, other than such elements of glass not optically worked
- 9002Lenses, prisms, mirrors and other optical elements, of any material, mounted, being parts of or fittings for instruments or apparatus, other than such elements of glass not optically worked
- 9003Frames and mountings for spectacles, goggles or the like, and parts thereof
- 9004Spectacles, goggles and the like, corrective, protective or other
- 9005Binoculars, monoculars, other optical telescopes, and mountings therefor; other astronomical instruments and mountings therefor, but not including instruments for radio-astronomy
- 9006Photographic (other than cinematographic) cameras; photographic flashlight apparatus and flashbulbs other than discharge lamps of heading 8539
- 9007Cinematographic cameras and projectors, whether or not incorporating sound recording or reproducing apparatus
- 9008Image projectors, other than cinematographic; photographic (other than cinematographic) enlargers and reducers
- 9010Apparatus and equipment for photographic (including cinematographic) laboratories, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; negatoscopes; projection screens
- 9011Compound optical microscopes, including those for photomicrography, cinephotomicrography or microprojection
- 9012Microscopes other than optical microscopes; diffraction apparatus
- 9013Lasers, other than laser diodes; other optical appliances and instruments, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter
- 9014Direction finding compasses; other navigational instruments and appliances
- 9015Surveying (including photogrammetrical surveying), hydrographic, oceanographic, hydrological, meteorological or geophysical instruments and appliances, excluding compasses; rangefinders
- 9016Balances of a sensitivity of 5 cg or better, with or without weights
- 9017Drawing, marking-out or mathematical calculating instruments (for example, drafting machines, pantographs, protractors, drawing sets, slide rules, disc calculators); instruments for measuring length, for use in the hand (for example, measuring rods and tapes, micrometers, callipers), not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter
- 9018Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, including scintigraphic apparatus, other electromedical apparatus and sight-testing instruments
- 9019Mechano-therapy appliances; massage apparatus; psychological aptitude-testing apparatus; ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial respiration or other therapeutic respiration apparatus
- 9020Other breathing appliances and gas masks, excluding protective masks having neither mechanical parts nor replaceable filters
- 9021Orthopaedic appliances, including crutches, surgical belts and trusses; splints and other fracture appliances; artificial parts of the body; hearing aids and other appliances which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability
- 9022Apparatus based on the use of X-rays or of alpha, beta, gamma or other ionising radiation, whether or not for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary uses, including radiography or radiotherapy apparatus, X-ray tubes and other X-ray generators, high tension generators, control panels and desks, screens, examination or treatment tables, chairs and the like
- 9023Instruments, apparatus and models, designed for demonstrational purposes (for example, in education or exhibitions), unsuitable for other uses
- 9024Machines and appliances for testing the hardness, strength, compressibility, elasticity or other mechanical properties of materials (for example, metals, wood, textiles, paper, plastics)
- 9025Hydrometers and similar floating instruments, thermometers, pyrometers, barometers, hygrometers and psychrometers, recording or not, and any combination of these instruments
- 9026Instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking the flow, level, pressure or other variables of liquids or gases (for example, flow meters, level gauges, manometers, heat meters), excluding instruments and apparatus of heading 9014, 9015, 9028 or 9032
- 9027Instruments and apparatus for physical or chemical analysis (for example, polarimeters, refractometers, spectrometers, gas or smoke analysis apparatus); instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking viscosity, porosity, expansion, surface tension or the like; instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking quantities of heat, sound or light (including exposure meters); microtomes
- 9028Gas, liquid or electricity supply or production meters, including calibrating meters therefor
- 9029Revolution counters, production counters, taximeters, milometers, pedometers and the like; speed indicators and tachometers, other than those of heading 9014 or 9015; stroboscopes
- 9030Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and other instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities, excluding meters of heading 9028; instruments and apparatus for measuring or detecting alpha, beta, gamma, X-ray, cosmic or other ionising radiation
- 9031Measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; profile projectors
- 9032Automatic regulating or controlling instruments and apparatus
- 9033Parts and accessories (not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter) for machines, appliances, instruments or apparatus of Chapter 90
EU: imports by month
World trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$9mUS$9m+US$266m+US$7bn+> US$23bn
Exports: 225
- United States: US$108bn
- China: US$83bn
- Germany: US$78bn
- Japan: US$40bn
- Mexico: US$37bn
- Netherlands: US$27bn
- Ireland: US$23bn
- United Kingdom: US$21bn
- Switzerland: US$20bn
- Singapore: US$20bn
- France: US$19bn
- Malaysia: US$18bn
- Italy: US$17bn
- South Korea: US$15bn
- Taiwan: US$13bn
- Costa Rica: US$10bn
- Canada: US$8bn
- Thailand: US$8bn
- Israel: US$8bn
- Belgium: US$8bn
- Poland: US$8bn
- Czechia: US$7bn
- Vietnam: US$7bn
- Austria: US$6bn
- Hungary: US$5bn
- India: US$5bn
- Denmark: US$5bn
- Sweden: US$5bn
- Spain: US$4bn
- Australia: US$4bn
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$4bn
- Romania: US$4bn
- Philippines: US$3bn
- Finland: US$3bn
- Dominican Republic: US$3bn
- Portugal: US$3bn
- Türkiye: US$2bn
- Norway: US$2bn
- Brazil: US$1bn
- Indonesia: US$1bn
- Bulgaria: US$1bn
- Lithuania: US$1bn
- Slovakia: US$1bn
- Slovenia: US$990m
- Tunisia: US$988m
- Greece: US$868m
- Estonia: US$812m
- New Zealand: US$810m
- South Africa: US$607m
- Iceland: US$579m
- Pakistan: US$570m
- Russia: US$542m
- United Arab Emirates: US$528m
- Serbia: US$467m
- Latvia: US$440m
- Saudi Arabia: US$389m
- Croatia: US$266m
- Laos: US$259m
- Luxembourg: US$258m
- Kazakhstan: US$199m
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$142mUS$142m+US$943m+US$7bn+> US$22bn
Imports: 225
- United States: US$124bn
- China: US$59bn
- Germany: US$48bn
- Netherlands: US$39bn
- Japan: US$26bn
- France: US$24bn
- South Korea: US$22bn
- United Kingdom: US$21bn
- Mexico: US$18bn
- Italy: US$16bn
- Canada: US$15bn
- Taiwan: US$14bn
- India: US$14bn
- Belgium: US$13bn
- Singapore: US$13bn
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$12bn
- Spain: US$12bn
- Switzerland: US$10bn
- Australia: US$10bn
- Poland: US$9bn
- Brazil: US$8bn
- Vietnam: US$8bn
- Malaysia: US$7bn
- Russia: US$7bn
- Thailand: US$7bn
- Türkiye: US$7bn
- Austria: US$6bn
- Ireland: US$6bn
- Czechia: US$6bn
- Saudi Arabia: US$5bn
- United Arab Emirates: US$5bn
- Sweden: US$5bn
- Indonesia: US$4bn
- Denmark: US$4bn
- Israel: US$4bn
- Hungary: US$3bn
- Romania: US$3bn
- Norway: US$3bn
- Philippines: US$3bn
- Portugal: US$3bn
- South Africa: US$2bn
- Finland: US$2bn
- Slovakia: US$2bn
- Colombia: US$2bn
- Argentina: US$2bn
- Ukraine: US$2bn
- Greece: US$2bn
- Chile: US$2bn
- New Zealand: US$2bn
- Kazakhstan: US$2bn
- Egypt: US$2bn
- Morocco: US$1bn
- Costa Rica: US$1bn
- Slovenia: US$1bn
- Iran: US$1bn
- Peru: US$1bn
- Algeria: US$943m
- Bulgaria: US$935m
- Croatia: US$883m
- Qatar: US$862m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$108bn | 15.9% |
| 2 |  China | US$83bn | 12.3% |
| 3 |  Germany | US$78bn | 11.6% |
| 4 | Japan | US$40bn | 5.9% |
| 5 | Mexico | US$37bn | 5.5% |
| 6 |  Netherlands | US$27bn | 3.9% |
| 7 |  Ireland | US$23bn | 3.4% |
| 8 | United Kingdom | US$21bn | 3% |
| 9 | Switzerland | US$20bn | 3% |
| 10 |  Singapore | US$20bn | 2.9% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$124bn | 18.3% |
| 2 | China | US$59bn | 8.7% |
| 3 | Germany | US$48bn | 7.1% |
| 4 | Netherlands | US$39bn | 5.8% |
| 5 | Japan | US$26bn | 3.8% |
| 6 |  France | US$24bn | 3.5% |
| 7 |  South Korea | US$22bn | 3.2% |
| 8 | United Kingdom | US$21bn | 3.1% |
| 9 | Mexico | US$18bn | 2.7% |
| 10 |  Italy | US$16bn | 2.4% |
In the UK Global Tariff, chapter 90 covers 255 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 4%. 215 of them are duty-free.
The EU Combined Nomenclature divides chapter 90 into 215 tariff lines; the duty is between 0% and 6.7% (average 1.1%). 138 of them are duty-free.
In the Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule, chapter 90 covers 348 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 6.7%. 158 of them are duty-free.
World trade in chapter 90 goods reached US$678bn in 2024, up 1.5% on 2023.
The United States was the largest exporter with 15.9% of the total, ahead of China.
The United States imported the most (US$124bn).
Chapter notes
Notes
1. This chapter does not cover:
(a) articles of a kind used in machines, appliances or for other technical uses, of vulcanised rubber other than hard rubber (heading 4016), of leather or of composition leather (heading 4205) or of textile material (heading 5911);
(b) supporting belts or other support articles of textile material, whose intended effect on the organ to be supported or held derives solely from their elasticity (for example, maternity belts, thoracic support bandages, abdominal support bandages, supports for joints or muscles) (Section XI);
(c) refractory goods of heading 6903; ceramic wares for laboratory, chemical or other technical uses, of heading 6909;
(d) glass mirrors, not optically worked, of heading 7009, or mirrors of base metal or of precious metal, not being optical elements (heading 8306 or Chapter 71);
(f) parts of general use, as defined in note 2 to Section XV, of base metal (Section XV) or similar goods of plastics (Chapter 39); however, articles specially designed for use exclusively in implants in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences are to be classified in heading 9021;
(g) pumps incorporating measuring devices, of heading 8413; weight-operated counting and checking machinery, or separately presented weights for balances (heading 8423); lifting or handling machinery (headings 8425 to 8428); paper or paperboard cutting machines of all kinds (heading 8441); fittings for adjusting work or tools on machine tools or water-jet cutting machines, of heading 8466, including fittings with optical devices for reading the scale (for example, optical dividing heads) but not those which are in themselves essentially optical instruments (for example, alignment telescopes); calculating machines (heading 8470); valves and other appliances of heading 8481; machines and apparatus (including apparatus for the projection or drawing of circuit patterns on sensitised semiconductor materials) of heading 8486;
(h) searchlights or spotlights of a kind used for cycles or motor vehicles (heading 8512); portable electric lamps of heading 8513; cinematographic sound recording, reproducing or re-recording apparatus (heading 8519); sound-heads (heading 8522); television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders (heading 8525); radar apparatus, radio navigational aid apparatus or radio remote control apparatus (heading 8526); connectors for optical fibres, optical fibre bundles or cables (heading 8536); numerical control apparatus of heading 8537; sealed beam lamp units of heading 8539; optical fibre cables of heading 8544;
(ij) searchlights or spotlights of heading 9405;
(k) articles of Chapter 95;
(l) monopods, bipods, tripods and similar articles, of heading 9620;
(m) capacity measures, which are to be classified according to their constituent material; or
(n) spools, reels or similar supports (which are to be classified according to their constituent material, for example, in heading 3923 or Section XV).
2. Subject to note 1 above, parts and accessories for machines, apparatus, instruments or articles of this chapter are to be classified according to the following rules:
(a) Parts and accessories which are goods included in any of the headings of this chapter or of Chapter 84, 85 or 91 (other than heading 8487, 8548 or 9033) are in all cases to be classified in their respective headings.
(b) Other parts and accessories, if suitable for use solely or principally with a particular kind of machine, instrument or apparatus, or with a number of machines, instruments or apparatus of the same heading (including a machine, instrument or apparatus of heading 9010, 9013 or 9031) are to be classified with the machines, instruments or apparatus of that kind.
(c) All other parts and accessories are to be classified in heading 9033.
3. The provisions of notes 3 and 4 to Section XVI apply also to this chapter.
4. Heading 9005 does not apply to telescopic sights for fitting to arms, periscopic telescopes for fitting to submarines or tanks, or to telescopes for machines, appliances, instruments or apparatus of this chapter or Section XVI; such telescopic sights and telescopes are to be classified in heading 9013.
5. Measuring or checking optical instruments, appliances or machines which, but for this note, could be classified both in heading 9013 and in heading 9031 are to be classified in heading 9031.
6. For the purposes of heading 9021, the expression ‘orthopaedic appliances’ means appliances for:
preventing or correcting bodily deformities; or
supporting or holding parts of the body following an illness, operation or injury.
Orthopaedic appliances include footwear and special insoles designed to correct orthopaedic conditions, provided that they are either (1) made to measure or (2) mass-produced, presented singly and not in pairs and designed to fit either foot equally.
7. Heading 9032 applies only to:
(a) instruments and apparatus for automatically controlling the flow, level, pressure or other variables of liquids or gases, or for automatically controlling temperature, whether or not their operation depends on an electrical phenomenon which varies according to the factor to be automatically controlled, which are designed to bring this factor to, and maintain it at, a desired value, stabilised against disturbances, by constantly or periodically measuring its actual value; and
(b) automatic regulators of electrical quantities, and instruments or apparatus for automatically controlling non-electrical quantities the operation of which depends on an electrical phenomenon varying according to the factor to be controlled, which are designed to bring this factor to, and maintain it at, a desired value, stabilised against disturbances, by constantly or periodically measuring its actual value.
Additional notes
1. For the purposes of subheadings 90153010, 90258040, 90261021, 90261029, 90262020, 90268020, 90271010 and 90321020, the expression ‘electronic’ means instruments and apparatus which incorporate one or more articles of heading 8540, 8541 or 8542 but for the purposes of the foregoing, no account shall be taken of articles of heading 8540, 8541 or 8542 which have solely the function of rectifying current or which are included in the power pack of instruments or apparatus.
2. For the purposes of subheading 90211010, the expression "orthopaedic appliances" means appliances which are specially designed for a particular orthopaedic purpose, in distinction to products that might be used for various purposes (for example, products for overstrained joints, ligaments or tendons caused by sporting activities, type writing, and products which simply alleviate pain in the defective or disabled part of the body, for example, caused by inflammation).
The "orthopaedic appliances" must completely prevent a specific movement of the defective or disabled part of the body (for example, joints, ligaments, tendons) in order to exclude further injuries or bodily deformities or an aggravation of such injuries or deformities, as distinct from other products that cannot prevent specific movements, yet prevent reflex movements (movements carried out subconsciously) through the relative inflexibility of those products due to, for example, flexible splints, pressure pads, non-elastic textile material, restrictions through "Velcro-type" straps.
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof?
Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof make up HS chapter 90, in section XVIII of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on optical, photographic, cinematographic… in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 90 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 4%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on optical, photographic, cinematographic… in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 90 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 6.7%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most optical, photographic, cinematographic…?
The United States, with US$108bn in 2024 (15.9% of world exports).