AES filing made easy.
US Customs, in conjunction with the US Census Bureau, recently updated the nine-thousand-or-so ten-digit numbers they use to classify exports. This system is called the Schedule B.

Included in the update are several new codes to identify hybrid and electric cars. Electric passenger cars are all lumped under one Schedule B.

  • 8703800000: other vehicles with only an electric motor for propulsion

Hybrids, however, are defined by whether their alternative fuel type is gasoline or diesel, by their engine displacement, and by whether or not they have the means to recharge by plugging in to an external power source. Here is the breakdown of these new Schedule B codes.

  • 8703400045: used gasoline hybrid without plug-in, engine between 1.5 and 3 liters in size
  • 8703400090: used gasoline hybrid without plug-in, engine greater than 3 liters in size
  • 8703500050: used diesel hybrid without plug-in, engine between 1.5 and 2.5 liters in size
  • 8703500090: used diesel hybrid without plug-in, engine greater than 2.5 liters in size
  • 8703600045: used gasoline hybrid with plug-in, engine between 1.5 and 3 liters in size
  • 8703600090: used gasoline hybrid with plug-in, engine greater than 3 liters in size
  • 8703700050: used diesel hybrid with plug-in, engine between 1.5 and 2.5 liters in size
  • 8703700090: used diesel hybrid with plug-in, engine greater than 2.5 liters in size

Although not exactly new, the codes for cars with standard gasoline and diesel engines are slightly different than before. Now the eighth digit in their Schedule Bs is a 1 instead of a zero.

  • 8703230190: gasoline-powered cars with engines between 1.5 and 3 liters
  • 8703240190: gasoline-powered cars with engines greater than 3 liters in size
  • 8703320150: diesel cars, engine size between 1.5 and 2.5 liters
  • 8703330185: diesel cars, engine size above 2.5 liters

This is the general pattern too for motorhomes and special purpose vehicles, although snowmobiles are the same with 8703101000. There are also a number of new classification numbers for machinery such as plows, pavers, and tractors. Keep in mind that for customs’ purposes all self-propelled vehicles — that is, those that move via their own power source — have to be filed when exported to Canada.

You can find a complete list of the US classification numbers for export at the Census Bureau’s website here.