9205.90.12.00 - Keyboard pipe organs 🖩

This HTS classification covers keyboard pipe organs, which are musical instruments that produce sound by forcing air through pipes, with the airflow being controlled by a keyboard mechanism. These instruments are characterized by their complex construction involving a wind supply system (bellows or blower), a reservoir, windchests, pipes of various lengths and diameters, and a keyboard console that allows for the selection and activation of different ranks of pipes. The emphasis is on instruments where the pipe organ principle is employed and operated via a keyboard, distinguishing them from other wind instruments.

Within the broader category of "Wind musical instruments...other than fairground organs and mechanical street organs," this subheading specifically isolates keyboard pipe organs. It differentiates these from other "Other" wind instruments classified under 9205.90.14.00. The defining characteristic is the presence of a keyboard for playing, in contrast to instruments played by direct embouchure, striking, or reed manipulation without a keyboard interface. Furthermore, this code encompasses harmoniums and similar keyboard instruments that utilize free metal reeds to generate sound, aligning them with the keyboard-driven wind instrument classification, provided they are not classified elsewhere under more specific provisions.

As this is a leaf node in the HTS database, there are no further subcategories. Therefore, the classification of a product as "Keyboard pipe organs" hinges entirely on its adherence to the description and its exclusion from sibling categories, particularly the general "Other" classification. Practical considerations for classification will focus on the presence of a keyboard interface, the use of pipes as the sound-producing element (for pipe organs), or the use of free metal reeds controlled by a keyboard (for harmoniums and similar instruments).