9903.96.01: UK Civil Aircraft Exemption Heading Explained

Key Points

• 9903.96.01 is a claim heading in the Civil Aircraft Exemption program: it carries 0 percent additional duty itself, and importers claim it to show an exemption applies.
• Its official text applies "with respect to entries on or after June 30, 2025," and the facts show no announced end date.
• It covers civil aircraft, their engines, parts and components, and ground flight simulators and their parts and components, of the United Kingdom (country code GB).
• Coverage depends on the subheadings enumerated in subdivision (a) of U.S. note 35 to the subchapter, so the 8-digit HTS line on your entry has to appear there.
• The legal authority named in the facts is the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal aerospace annex.

On this page

1. What 9903.96.01 is and what the heading says
2. Affected products and HTS coverage
3. Rate and dates
4. How it appears on an entry
5. What importers should do
6. Key references

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the official tariff schedule pages and agency pages themselves. Read the source.

Direct answer: 9903.96.01 is the Chapter 99 heading an importer claims for civil aircraft, engines, parts, components and flight simulators of the United Kingdom that fall within the subheadings listed in U.S. note 35(a). It adds no duty of its own: the rate is 0 percent additional duty, for entries on or after June 30, 2025. This reflects the facts as of October 2026.

What 9903.96.01 is and what the heading says

Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule holds temporary and special provisions that sit alongside the regular chapter 1-97 tariff lines. Some of those headings impose additional duties. Others, like this one, are exemption or claim headings: they tell CBP that a good qualifies for an exception within its program. 9903.96.01 belongs to the second group, under the program named Civil Aircraft Exemption.

The official heading text reads:

Effective with respect to entries on or after June 30, 2025, articles of civil aircraft (all aircraft other than military aircraft); their engines, parts, and components; their other parts, components, and subassemblies; and ground flight simulators and their parts and components, of the United Kingdom, classified in the subheadings enumerated in subdivision (a) of U.S. note 35 to this subchapter

The legal authority named in the facts is the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal aerospace annex, and the heading appears in the USITC tariff print as 9903.96.01. The facts do not name a specific proclamation, executive order or Federal Register document, so none is cited here. Check the current HTSUS for the full text of U.S. note 35 and the chapter 99 heading.

Which actions it exempts

The facts describe this as an exemption heading within its program but do not name the specific additional-duty actions it exempts. Do not assume which other duties it relieves. Confirm the exact scope in the current HTSUS and with your broker before relying on it for any other duty line on your entry.

Affected products and HTS coverage

Three tests must all be met:

• Product type: civil aircraft (all aircraft other than military aircraft), their engines, parts and components, their other parts, components and subassemblies, or ground flight simulators and their parts and components.
• Country: the goods must be of the United Kingdom. The scope rules show country code GB.
• Classification: the goods must be classified in a subheading enumerated in subdivision (a) of U.S. note 35.

Sample of enumerated subheadings

The scope data we reviewed was capped at 500 rows, and the heading may carry more, so no total count is stated here. The first 40 subheadings shown all list GB, from June 30, 2025 onward, with no announced end date. A sample:

• 84251100 and 84148020 (machinery lines)
• 84111140 and 84112140 (turbine-related lines)
• 85299095, 85299055, 85299021 and 85299005 (apparatus parts lines)
• 90019050 and 90019060 (optical lines)
• 83026030 and 83022000 (mountings and fittings)
• 88079090 (aircraft parts)
• 94059940 and 94051140 (lighting lines)
• 73045910 and 73049070 (tubes and pipes)
• 91040025 and 91040040 (instrument panel clocks)
• 39269045, 68138900, 74130090 and 81089060 (plastic, friction material, copper and titanium-related lines)

The listing is a sample, not a full list. A subheading missing from it may still be in U.S. note 35(a). Read the note itself in the HTSUS instead of relying on a partial list. The product descriptions above are shorthand: confirm each line's exact wording in the tariff schedule.

Rate and dates

The rate is 0 percent additional duty, for entries on or after June 30, 2025. The facts show no announced end date. Because the heading adds no duty, the "rate" only records that nothing extra is owed on a qualifying line through this heading. Your regular column 1 duty for the underlying chapter 1-97 subheading is a separate matter. Confirm that rate in the current HTSUS, since the facts here do not state it.

Entries made before June 30, 2025 fall outside this heading's stated effective window. If you have earlier entries for UK aircraft goods, check with your broker how those were treated.

How it appears on an entry

A Chapter 99 heading never replaces the regular tariff line. It rides alongside it:

1. Report the 10-digit HTS number for the goods in chapters 1-97 as usual, with United Kingdom as the country of origin.
2. Where the goods qualify, report 9903.96.01 as the additional Chapter 99 line for that item.
3. Make sure the underlying subheading is one enumerated in U.S. note 35(a).

The facts describe this as a claim-gated exemption, so the heading has to be claimed on the entry. It does not apply automatically. Confirm current filing instructions on the CBP website and in any CSMS guidance your broker receives.

Do not confuse this heading with other civil aircraft exemption headings from other programs. For example, our article on 9903.03.05, the ended Section 122 civil aircraft exemption heading, covers a separate heading. For a wider view of Chapter 99 codes this year, see the 2026 tariff code overview.

What importers should do

• Check each UK-origin aircraft, engine, part, component or simulator line against the subheadings in U.S. note 35(a) in the current HTSUS before claiming 9903.96.01.
• Confirm with your broker which other duty actions, if any, this heading relieves, because the facts do not name them.
• Make sure entries on or after June 30, 2025 carry the 9903.96.01 line alongside the chapter 1-97 line when the goods qualify, and keep supporting records showing UK origin and classification.
• Recheck the HTSUS periodically, since the facts show no announced end date but the list may change.

Key references

• Harmonized Tariff Schedule (USITC): official text of heading 9903.96.01 and U.S. note 35 to the subchapter.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection: filing guidance and CSMS messages for Chapter 99 claims.
• Federal Register: search here for any notice implementing the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal aerospace annex.
• CustomsGenius 2026 tariff code overview: context on Chapter 99 headings this year.