Vacuum telescopic tube is a part: CN 8508 70 00, not 7608

Importers and declarants of aluminium telescopic tubes for vacuum cleaners must use CN code 8508 70 00Tulli, as a part of vacuum cleaners, and not heading 7608Tulli for aluminium tubes and pipes. Tulli has added the new classification decision to its classification-decision collection for groups 84–97, and the collection now shows 29 October 2026 as its update dateTulli. The decision applies Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2265TulliTulli, published in the Official Journal on 9 October 2026Europa.

The product is an aluminium article of two non-separable rigid tubes of different diameters inserted into each other and joined by a locking mechanism into a telescopic tube. The inner tube is ribbed so the user can adjust the length. One end connects to the flexible hose fitted to the vacuum-cleaner unit and the other to various cleaning heads, and the tube is designed for a specific type of vacuum cleaner for cleaning floors and other surfaces.

Classification follows general rules 1 and 6 for interpreting the Combined Nomenclature, note 2(b) to Section XVI and the wording of CN codes 8508 and 8508 70 00. The rigid telescopic tube is treated as an indispensable part of the vacuum cleanerTulli because it maintains the airflow and secures maximum suction efficiency: it gives a straight air passage between the flexible hose and the cleaning head, keeping the airflow smooth and maximising suction power. Because the vacuum-cleaner type is principally designed for floor cleaning in a standing position, the tube also matters ergonomically, serving as the handle that guides the cleaning head and extending to the length that makes use comfortable and cleaning effective. Without the rigid tube the vacuum cleaner could not carry out its intended functionEuropa, a reading the decision supports with the Court's HARK judgment of 12 December 2013 (C-450/12, paragraphs 36–39).

The tube is identifiable by objective characteristics inherent to its use, principally its design and dimensions, as a part suitable for use solely or principally with heading 8508 vacuum cleanersTulli. Classification as a tube under 7608 is therefore excludedTulli: the article has been made up into a specific identifiable article, a part of heading 8508 vacuum cleaners, consistent with exclusion point (d) of the Harmonised System Explanatory Notes to heading 7608. The tube is accordingly classified under heading 8508 by application of note 2(b) to Section XVITulli, and as CN code 8508 70 00 as a vacuum-cleaner partTulliTulli.

Holders of binding tariff information should check conformity. Non-conforming BTI may continue to be invoked under Article 34(9) of the Union Customs CodeEuropa for three months from the regulation's entry into forceEuropa. The regulation enters into force on the twentieth day after its publicationEuropa, and the rest of the collection update is presentation: renumbered decision identifiers, repositioned headings and punctuation, with no other new classification content.

Legal basis: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2265 of 6 October 2026Europa on classification under CN code 8508 70 00Europa, applied in Tulli's classification-decision collection for groups 84–97 as updated on 29 October 2026Tulli.