HS Code for Remote Controls

Remote controls sit in chapter 85 of the HTSUS, and the transmission technology is the main factor that points toward a heading. A controller or remote that works by radio transmission points toward heading 8526, the provision for radio remote control apparatus, at subheading 8526.92, with a dedicated line for wireless video-game-console controllers and a general line for other radio remotes such as garage-door and drone controllers. Both radio lines carry a general rate of Free. An infrared household remote (TV or AV) points instead toward heading 8543, the provision for electrical machines and apparatus having individual functions, and a wired game controller may follow the console it plugs into under heading 9504: both worth exploring as adjacent options. Identifying whether the controller uses radio or infrared, and whether it is wireless or wired, is the first step in exploring the most appropriate line.

Remote controls and controllers sit within chapter 85 of the HTSUS, but there is no single 'remote control' heading; the technology the device uses is what points toward a heading. Radio remote control apparatus has its own dedicated provision at heading 8526, which is the natural starting point for a wireless controller that communicates by radio.

A controller that operates by radio transmission points toward heading 8526, subheading 8526.92: radio remote control apparatus. Within that subheading, radio controllers for video game consoles have their own line at 8526.92.10, and other radio remotes (such as garage-door openers, drone and RC controllers, and similar radio-frequency devices) point toward the general line at 8526.92.50. Both lines carry a general rate of Free, so for a radio controller the main task is confirming that radio transmission is how it works.

Infrared remotes are a different branch. A household infrared remote for a television or other audio-video equipment points instead toward heading 8543, the provision for electrical machines and apparatus having individual functions and not specified or included elsewhere in chapter 85. Because it works by infrared rather than radio, a typical TV or AV remote is explored under heading 8543 rather than the radio provision at 8526; an adjacent option worth checking whenever the device is not radio-based.

A further adjacent option applies to wired game controllers. A controller that plugs into a game console by cable, rather than communicating wirelessly, may follow the console itself under heading 9504 (video game consoles and machines and their articles), rather than the radio-remote provision. So a wired gamepad and a wireless one can point toward different headings.

A practical way to approach it is to identify first how the controller communicates: radio points toward heading 8526.92 (with the video-game-console line and the general line as the two branches), infrared points toward heading 8543, and a wired console controller points toward heading 9504 as an adjacent option to explore. Confirming radio versus infrared, and wireless versus wired, is what steers the device toward the most appropriate line.

General duty rates for the radio-controller lines are Free. Both the video-game-console line (8526.92.10) and the general radio remote control line (8526.92.50) within heading 8526 carry a general rate of Free. The adjacent options carry their own treatment worth reviewing separately: an infrared household remote points toward heading 8543, and a wired game controller may follow the console under heading 9504, each with its own rate. Preferential rates under free trade agreements may reduce or eliminate any applicable duties for qualifying origins. Because the radio lines are already Free, the main reason to pin down the exact line is arriving at a better classification suggestion rather than a change in estimated duty. These figures are estimates for general planning purposes only.