JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Tenth Chamber)

17 July 2014 ([\*](#Footnote*))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 — Common Customs Tariff — Tariff classification — Combined Nomenclature — Headings 8471 and 8528 — Plasma screens — Function as computer screen — Potential function as a television screen, after insertion of a video card)

In Case C‐472/12,

REQUEST for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Corte suprema di cassazione (Italy), made by decision of
13 January 2012, received at the Court on 22 October 2012, in the proceedings

**Panasonic Italia SpA,**

**Panasonic Marketing Europe GmbH,**

**Scerni Logistics Srl**

v

**Agenzia delle Dogane di Milano,**

THE COURT (Tenth Chamber),

composed of E. Juhász, President of the Chamber, A. Rosas and C. Vajda (Rapporteur), Judges,

Advocate General: Y. Bot,

Registrar: A. Impellizzeri, Administrator,

having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 11 December 2013,

after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

–        Panasonic Italia SpA, Panasonic Marketing Europe GmbH and Scerni Logistics Srl, by P. Vander Schueren, advocaat, and by G. Cambareri
and L. Pierallini, avvocati,

–        the Italian Government, by G. Palmieri, acting as Agent and G. Albenzio, avvocato dello Stato,

–        the European Commission, by L. Keppenne, D. Recchia and B.-R. Killmann, acting as Agents,

having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,

gives the following

**Judgment**

1        The request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature (‘the CN’) set out in Annex
I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs
Tariff (OJ 1987 L 256, p. 1), in the versions resulting successively from Commission Regulation (EC) No 2388/2000 of 13 October
2000 (OJ 2000 L 264, p. 1), Commission Regulation (EC) No 2031/2001 of 6 August 2001 (OJ 2001 L 279, p. 1), Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1832/2002 of 1 August 2002 (OJ 2002 L 290, p.1), and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1789/2003 of 11 September 2003
(OJ 2003 L 281, p. 1).

2        That request has been made in proceedings between Panasonic Italia SpA, Panasonic Marketing Europe GmbH and Scerni Logistics
Srl and the Agenzia delle Dogane di Milano (Customs Office of Milan, ‘the Agenzia’) concerning the tariff classification of
plasma screens in the CN.

**Legal context**

*The Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System.*

3        The Customs Cooperation Council, now the World Customs Organisation (‘WCO’), established by the convention creating that council,
which was concluded in Brussels on 15 December 1950. The Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (‘the HS’) was
drawn up by the WCO and established by the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System
(‘the HS Convention’) concluded in Brussels on 14 June 1983 and approved, with its amending protocol of 24 June 1986, on behalf
of the European Economic Community by Council Decision 87/369/EEC of 7 April 1987 (OJ 1987 L 198, p. 1).

4        Under Article 3(1) of the HS Convention, each Contracting Party undertakes to ensure that its customs tariff and statistical
nomenclatures will be in conformity with the HS, to use all of the headings and subheadings of the HS without addition or
modification, together with their related codes, and to follow the numerical sequence of that system. Each Contracting Party
also undertakes to apply the General Rules for the interpretation of the HS and all the section, chapter and subheading notes
of the HS, and not to modify their scope.

5        The WCO is to approve, under the conditions laid down in Article 8 of the HS Convention, the Explanatory Notes and Classification
Opinions adopted by the HS Committee.

6        In the version adopted in 2002, the Explanatory Notes to the HS relating to Heading 8471 were drafted as follows:

‘1.      Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof;

...

D.      Separately Presented Units

...

A unit is to be regarded as being a part of a complete data processing system, if it performs a data processing function and
satisfies the following conditions:

(a)      It is of a kind solely or principally used in an automatic data processing system;

(b)      It is connectable to the central processing unit either directly or through one or more other units; and

(c)      It is able to accept or deliver data in a form (codes or signals) which can be used by the system.

If the unit performs a specific function other than data processing, it is to be classified in the heading appropriate to
that function or, failing that, in a residual heading (see Note 5 (E) to this Chapter).

...

Among the constituent units included are display units of automatic data-processing machines which provide a graphical representation
of the data processed. They differ from the video monitors and television receivers of heading 8528 in several ways, including
the following:

(1)      Display units of automatic data processing machines are capable of accepting a signal only from the central processing unit
of an automatic data processing machine and are therefore not able to reproduce a colour image from a composite video signal
whose waveform conforms to a broadcast standard (NTSC, SECAM, PAL, D-MAC, etc.). They are fitted with connectors characteristic
of data processing systems (e.g., RS-232C interface, DIN or SUB-D connectors) and do not have an audio circuit. They are controlled
by special adaptors (e.g., monochrome or graphics adaptors) which are integrated in the central processing unit of the automatic
data processing machine.

(2)      These display units are characterised by low electromagnetic field emissions. Their display pitch size starts at 0.41 mm for
medium resolution and gets smaller as the resolution increases.

(3)      In order to accommodate the presentation of small yet well-defined images, display units of this heading utilise smaller dot
(pixel) sizes and greater convergence standards than those applicable to video monitors and television receivers of heading
8528. (Convergence is the ability of the electron gun(s) to excite a single spot on the face of the cathode-ray tube without
disturbing any of the adjoining spots.)

(4)      In these display units, the video frequency (bandwidth), which is the measurement determining how many dots can be transmitted
per second to form the image, is generally 15 MHz or greater, whereas, in the case of video monitors of heading 8528, the
bandwidth is generally no greater than 6 MHz. The horizontal scanning frequency of these display units varies according to
the standards for various display modes, generally from 15 kHz to over 155 kHz. Many are capable of multiple horizontal scanning
frequencies. The horizontal scanning frequency of the video monitors of heading 8528 is fixed, usually 15.6 or 15.7 kHz depending
on the applicable television standard. Moreover, the display units of automatic data-processing machines do not operate in
conformity with national or international broadcast frequency standards for public broadcasting or with frequency standards
for closed-circuit television.

(5)      Display units covered by this heading frequently incorporate tilt and swivel adjusting mechanisms, glare-free surfaces, flicker-free
display, and other ergonomic design characteristics to facilitate prolonged periods of viewing at close proximity to the unit.

...’

7        In the version adopted in 2002, the Explanatory Notes to the HS relating to Heading 8528 were worded as follows:

‘This heading covers television receivers (including video monitors and video projectors), whether or not incorporating radio‐broadcast
receivers or sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus.

The heading includes:

(1)      Television receivers of the kind used in the home (table models, consoles, etc.) including coin‐operated television sets.
They include LCD and plasma televisions.

...

This heading does not cover:

(a)      Separately presented units of an automatic data-processing machine are to be classified under heading No 8471.

...’

*The CN*

8        Regulation No 2658/87 established the CN, which is based on the HS, from which it takes the six-digit headings and subheadings,
only the seventh and eighth digits forming subdivisions specific to the combined nomenclature.

9        Under Article 12(1) of that regulation, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 254/2000 of 31 January 2000 (OJ 2000 L 28,
p. 16), the European Commission is required to adopt each year a regulation reproducing the complete version of the CN and
the rates of customs duty, as they result from measures adopted by the Council of the European Union or by the Commission.
They are to apply from 1 January of the following calendar year.

10      The versions of the CN applicable at the material time, from 2001 to 2004, are those resulting from Regulations No 2388/2000,
No 2031/2001, No 1832/2002 and No 1789/2003. The relevant provisions of the CN, which are those set out below, are worded
in an identical manner in each of those versions.

11      The general rules for the interpretation of the CN, which are set out in Part One, Title I A, provide:

‘Classification of goods in the [CN] shall be governed by the following principles:

...

2.      (a)   Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided
that, as presented, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article.
It shall also be taken to include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete
or finished by virtue of this rule), presented unassembled or disassembled.

...’

12      The second part of the CN includes Section XVI, entitled ‘Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Electrical Equipment; Parts
thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories
of such articles’.

13      Notes 3 and 5 to Section XVI of the CN are worded as follows:

‘3.      Unless the context otherwise requires, composite machines consisting of two or more machines fitted together to form a whole
and other machines designed for the purpose of performing two or more complementary or alternative functions are to be classified
as if consisting only of that component or as being that machine which performs the principal function.

...

5.      For the purposes of these notes, the expression “machineˮ means any machine, machinery, plant, equipment, apparatus or appliance
cited in the headings of Chapter 84 or 85.’

14      Section XVI of the CN includes Chapter 84, entitled ‘Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts
thereof’.

15      Note 5 to Chapter 84 is worded as follows:

‘B.      Automatic data-processing machines may be in the form of systems consisting of a variable number of separate units.  Subject to paragraph E below, a unit is to be regarded as being a part of a complete system if it meets all of the following
conditions:

(a)      it is of a kind solely or principally used in an automatic data-processing system;

(b)      it is connectable to the central processing unit either directly or through one or more other units;

and

(c)      it is able to accept or deliver data in a form (codes or signals) which can be used by the system.

C.      Separately presented units of an automatic data-processing machine are to be classified under heading No 8471.

...

E.      Machines performing a specific function other than data processing and incorporating or working in conjunction with an automatic
data-processing machine are to be classified in the headings appropriate to their respective functions or, failing that, in
residual headings.’

16      Note 7 to Chapter 84 of the CN is worded as follows:

‘Subject to note 2 to this chapter and note 3 to Section XVI, a machine the principal purpose of which is not described in
any heading or for which no one purpose is the principal purpose is, unless the context otherwise requires, to be classified
in heading No 8479.

...’

17      Heading 8471 of the CN reads as follows:

‘8471 Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto
data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included:

...

8471 60 – Input or output units, whether or not containing storage units in the same housing

8471 60 10 –      –      For use in civil aircraft 8471 60 10

–      –      Other:

8471 60 40      –      –      –      Printers

8471 60 50      –      –      –      Keyboards

8471 60 90       –      –      –      Other

...’

18      Section XVI of the CN also includes Chapter 85, entitled ‘Electrical Machinery and Equipment and Parts thereof; Sound Recorders
and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of Such Articles’.

19      Heading 8528 of the CN is worded as follows:

‘8528 Reception apparatus for television, whether or not incorporating radio broadcast receivers or sound or video recording or
reproducing apparatus; video monitors and video projectors:

...

–        Video monitors:

8528 21 –       –       Colour:

...

8528 21 90       –      –      –      Other

...’

*Regulation (EC) No 754/2004*

20      Commission Regulation (EC) No 754/2004 of 21 April 2004 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature
(OJ 2004 L 118, p. 32), which entered into force after the imports at issue in the main proceedings, set out the classification
in the CN of certain colour plasma-screens with a diagonal measurement of the screen of 106 cm, with the characteristics described
in the annex to that regulation.

**The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling**

21      From 2001 to 2004, the applicants in the main proceedings imported into Italy from countries outside the European Union, plasma
screens with the characteristics described by the national court as follows:

–        those screens are colour monitors with a diagonal screen measurement of 106.6 centimetres;

–        in the state in which they are imported, those screens are capable of reproducing only data generated by an automatic data-processing
system;

–        however, with the insertion of a video card into the appropriate slot with which the screen is equipped they are also able
to receive composite AV video signals and thus also to be connected to sound and image recording and reproducing apparatus,
DVD players, video cameras and television satellite receivers;

–        the screens in question are not supplied with a video card at the time of importation, but such a card can easily be purchased
separately and at very low cost, and can easily be inserted into the appropriate slot provided for that purpose;

–        at the time of importation, the screens are equipped with two loudspeakers and a remote control, and that those parts could
be used only if the screen is used to receive composite AV video signals if a video card is inserted; and

–        the user manual for those screens refers specifically to the product’s audiovisual capabilities and to the possibility of
inserting a video card in order to activate reception of television signals.

22      For the purpose of making customs declarations, the applicants in the main proceedings classified the screens imported under
heading 8471 60 90 of the CN, as screens exclusively intended for the transmission of images generated by a computer, with
the result that those goods were exempt from customs duties and the payment of value added tax at the rate of 20%.

23      However, the Agenzia took the view that those screens should have been classified under heading 8528 of the CN, which refers
inter alia to reception apparatus for television and video monitors, with the result that customs duties at a rate of 14%
were applicable.

24      The applicants in the main proceedings brought actions before the Commissione tributaria provinciale di Milano (Provincial
Tax Court, Milan), which rejected those actions on the ground that the possibility to programme the screen to receive composite
video signals simply by inserting a video card meant that the apparatus could not be classified under tariff heading 8471
of the CN, because it no longer met the condition that the screen had to be used principally or predominantly in an automatic
data-processing system.

25      The applicants in the main proceedings appealed against the judgments at first instance before the Commissione tributaria
regionale di Milano (Regional Tax Court, Milan). That court confirmed the classification of the imported screens under tariff
heading 8528 of the CN, but held that the administrative penalties imposed were to be annulled, given that objective uncertainties
of interpretation existed.

26      Both the applicants in the main proceedings and the Agenzia brought appeals in cassation against the judgments delivered in
the appeal. In their appeal, the applicants in the main proceedings maintained their position, according to which the imported
screens must be classified under subheading 8471 60 90 of the CN since, at the time of importation, they were without video
cards and, therefore, could only be used to transmit images generated by a computer. The Agenzia restated its argument that
the classification of those screens under heading 8528 of the CN was well-founded and challenged the annulment by the court
of appeal of the administrative penalties imposed.

27      The referring court considers that the imported screens must be classified under heading 8528 of the CN, which refers, inter
alia, to reception apparatus for television and video monitors, for the following reasons. First, the reception of composite
video signals is one of the intrinsic characteristics of those screens even before the insertion of a video card, given the
slot expressly provided for that purpose. Second, no economic or technological reason justifies the design of those screens,
which are able to receive composite video signals only after the insertion of a video card, so that the only conceivable explanation
remains the desire to unfairly profit from the more favourable customs treatment provided for computer screens.

28      The referring court also asks about the possibility to apply the provisions of Regulation No 754/2004 retroactively, under
which the imported screens should be classified under heading 8528 of the CN.

29      In those circumstances the Corte suprema di cassazione decided to stay the proceedings before it and to refer the following
questions to the Court for a preliminary ruling:

‘(1)      Was it necessary, before the entry into force of [Regulation No 754/2004], to classify under heading 8471, or under heading
8528 of the CN, a plasma colour screen with a diagonal measurement of the screen of 106.6 centimetres, equipped with two loudspeakers
and a remote control, and with an input device designed for the insertion of a video card (very inexpensive and easy to find
and insert) which was not imported with the screen, but which, once inserted, meant that the screen was capable of receiving
composite AV video signals and could be connected, not only to automatic data-processing machines, but also to recording and
reproducing apparatus, DVD players, video cameras and satellite receivers?

(2)      If the answer to the above question is in the negative ... does Regulation No 754/2004 actually require a screen of that type
to be classified under heading 8528 of the CN, and, if the answer to that question is affirmative ... do the provisions of Regulation
No 754/2004 have to be regarded as interpretative and, as such, as having retroactive effect save where earlier specific provisions
to the contrary apply.’

**The questions referred for a preliminary ruling**

*The first question*

30      By its first question, the referring court wishes to know whether the screens at issue in the main proceedings should be classified
under heading 8471 of the CN or heading 8528 thereof.

31      It must be observed that the wording of heading 8471 of the CN refers, inter alia, to automatic data-processing machines and
their units, whereas the wording of heading 8528 of the CN, relates, inter alia, reception apparatus for television and video
monitors. Subheading 8471 60 90 includes in particular data entry or production units other than printers and keyboards which
may contain units of memory in the same housing, while subheading 8528 21 90 includes colour video monitors (*Kamino International Logistics* C‐376/07, EU:C:2009:105, paragraph 33).

32      However, when the Court is requested to give a preliminary ruling on a matter of tariff classification, its task is to provide
the national court with guidance on the criteria which will enable the latter to classify the products at issue correctly
in the CN, rather than to effect that classification itself, *a fortiori* since the Court does not necessarily have available to it all the information which is essential in that regard. In any event
the national court is in a better position to do so (*Lohmann and Medi Bayreuth*, C‐260/00 to C‐263/00 EU:C:2002:637, paragraph 26; *Digitalnet and Others*, C‐320/11, C‐330/11, C‐382/11 and C‐383/11, EU:C:2012:745, paragraph 61; *X*, C‐380/12, EU:C:2014:21, paragraph 34).

33      It will thus be for the referring court to classify the products at issue in the main proceedings in the light of the answers
provided by the Court to the questions it has referred (*X* EU:C:2014:21, paragraph 35).

34      Therefore, the first question must be reformulated so that the referring court asks the Court of Justice about the criteria
to be applied in order to determine whether the screens at issue in the main proceedings are to be classified under heading
8471 of the CN or, if not, under heading 8528 thereof.

35      It is settled case-law that, in the interests of legal certainty and ease of verification, the decisive criterion for the
classification of goods for customs purposes is in general to be sought in their objective characteristics and properties
as defined in the wording of the relevant heading of the CN and in the section or chapter notes (see, inter alia, *RUMA*, C‐183/06, EU:C:2007:110, paragraph 27, and *Medion and Canon Deutschland*, C‐208/06 and C‐209/06, EU:C:2007:553, paragraph 34).

36      The decisive criterion for the customs classification of goods under the common customs tariff must be sought in the objective
characteristics and properties of the products at the time of their presentation for customs clearance. The objective characteristics
and properties of products must be capable of being assessed at the time of customs clearance (*Foods Import*, C‐38/95, EU:C:1996:488, paragraph 17, and *Medion and Canon Deutschland* EU:C:2007:553, paragraph 36).

37      In that connection, it is clear from the objective characteristics set out in paragraph 21 of the present judgment that, at
the time of their importation, the screens at issue in the main proceedings can only reproduce data from an automatic data-processing
machine but, following the insertion in the slot provided for that purpose of a video card, sold separately and very inexpensively,
those screen are also capable of reproducing composite video signals.

38      It is also clear from those objective characteristics that those screens are equipped with two loud speakers and a remote
control which may only be used if those screens are used for the reception of composite video signals, and that their user
manual expressly mentions the audiovisual functions of the product and the possibility to insert a video card in order to
activate the reception of television signals.

39      According to settled case-law, the intended use of a product may also constitute an objective criterion for classification
if it is inherent to the product, and that inherent character must be capable of being assessed on the basis of the product’s
objective characteristics and properties (see *RUMA* EU:C:2007:110, paragraph 36, and *X* EU:C:2014:21, paragraph 39).

40      According to that case-law, for the purposes of the customs classification of the screens at issue in the main proceedings,
account must be taken of their inherent intended purpose, defined on the basis of their objective characteristics. In the
light of the objective characteristics which have been described by the referring court, the inherent intended purpose of
the screens at issue in the main proceedings consists in reproducing data from an automatic data-processing machine and composite
video signals.

41      In particular, it should be noted that the manufacturer of those screens expressly designed them so as to be capable of reproducing
composite video signals by incorporating elements enabling the reproduction of such signals following the insertion of a video
card, which may be obtained very inexpensively, in the slot provided for that purpose, by supplying two loud speakers and
a remote control which may only be used if those screens are used for the reception of composite video signals, and by mentioning
that function in the user manual.

42      In that connection, the facts of the present case must be distinguished from those which gave rise to the judgment in *Medion and Canon Deutschland* (EU:C:2007:553), which concerned camcorders made capable, after a modification, of recording images and sounds from external
video signals in addition to those from the integrated camera and microphone. It is clear from that judgment that those camcorders
had not been expressly designed to fulfil that function, since they were capable of fulfilling it only after a relatively
complex modification (see, to that effect, *Medion and Canon Deutschland* EU:C:2007:553, paragraphs 40 and 42).

43      It follows from the foregoing that, for the purpose of the tariff classification of screens with the objective characteristics
at issue in the main proceedings, as described by the referring court, account must be taken of their inherent intended purpose
consisting in the reproduction of data from an automatic data-processing machine and composite video signals.

44      It remains necessary to determine the method to be followed in order to make the tariff classification of such screens, capable
of reproducing data from an automatic data-processing machine and composite video signals.

45      In the judgment in *Kamino International Logistics* (EU:C:2009:105), the Court has already had occasion to rule on the criteria to be used to carry out a tariff classification
of such screens which are capable of reproducing both data from an automatic date-processing machine and from composite video
signals.

46      In that judgment, the Court set out the settled case-law, according to which both the notes which head the chapters of the
CN and the Explanatory Notes to the WCO Nomenclature are important means of ensuring the uniform application of the common
customs tariff and, as such, may be regarded as useful aids to its interpretation (see *Siemens Nixdorf*, C‐11/93, EU:C:1994:206, paragraph 12, and *Kamino International Logistics* EU:C:2009:105, paragraph 32).

47      In the present case, Note 5 B(a) to (c) of Chapter 84 of the CN states that screens such as those at issue in the main proceedings
fall within heading 8471 of the CN as units of an automatic data-processing machine if they satisfy simultaneously three conditions,
namely they are of a kind solely or principally used in an automatic data-processing system; they are connectable to the central
processing unit either directly or through one or more other units; and they are able to accept or deliver data in a form
(codes or signals) which can be used by the system (*Kamino International Logistics* EU:C:2009:105, paragraph 41).

48      Nothing in the file submitted to the Court suggests that, in the case in the main proceedings, the second and third conditions
set out above are not fulfilled.

49      As regards the first condition set out above, the Court has held that the mere fact that screens are able to display images
coming from sources other than an automatic data-processing machine does not preclude their classification in heading 8471
of the CN, having regard to Note 5(B)(a) to Chapter 84 of the CN, which refers to units used ‘solely or mainly’ in an automatic
data-processing system (*Kamino International Logistics* EU:C:2009:105, paragraphs 43 to 45).

50      As regards the criteria to establish whether screens such as those at issue in the main proceedings are units of a kind used
‘mainly’ in an automatic data-processing system, the Court has already had the opportunity to state that it is appropriate
to refer to the Explanatory Notes relating to heading 8471 of the HS, in particular to points 1 to 5 of Part One, Chapter
I(D) thereof, relating to display units of automatic data-processing machines (*Kamino International Logistics* EU:C:2009:105, paragraph 59).

51       It is apparent from those points that monitors used principally in an automatic data-processing system can be identified
not only by the fact that they are fitted with standard sockets for connection to data-processing systems, but also by other
technical characteristics, in particular by the fact that they are intended to be viewed close up, that they cannot display
television signals, that they have low magnetic field emissions, that their display pitch starts at 0.41 mm for medium resolution
and gets smaller as the resolution increases, that their bandwidth is 15 MHz or greater and that the dimension of the pixels
on the screen is smaller than for video monitors in heading 8528 of the HS, whereas the convergence of the former is greater
than that of the latter (*Kamino International Logistics* EU:C:2009:105, paragraph 60).

52      In that connection, the Commission has observed that certain objective characteristics of the screens at issue in the main
proceedings, described in paragraph 21 of the present judgment, seem to indicate that they are not intended to be used mainly
for the reproduction of data from an automatic data-processing system on account of the fact that, in particular, their substantial
size corresponds to a diagonal measurement of 106.6 cm, their dot pitch is considerably greater than 0.41 and they are equipped
with two loud speakers and a remote control which can only be used if the screen is used for reception of composite video
signals.

53      It is for the national court to determine, on the basis of the objective characteristics of the screens at issue in the main
proceedings and, in particular, those mentioned in the Explanatory Notes on heading 8471 of the HS, in particular those in
points 1 to 5 of the part of Chapter I D of the HS concerning display units for automatic data-processing machines, if the
screens at issue in the main proceedings are monitors used mainly in an automatic data-processing machine and, therefore,
whether they must be classified under subheading 8471 60 90 of the CN.

54      In the light of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the first question is that, for the purpose of the tariff classification
in the CN of screens with the objective characteristics at issue in the main proceedings, account should be taken of their
inherent intended purpose, which consists in reproducing the data from an automatic data-processing machine and from composite
video signals. Such screens must be classified under subheading 8471 60 90 of the CN if they are used solely or mainly in
an automatic data-processing system, within the meaning of Note 5B(a) of Chapter 84 of the CN, or under subheading 8528 21 90
of the CN if that is not the case, which is a matter for the national court to determine on the basis of the objective characteristics
of the screens at issue in the main proceedings, and in particular those mentioned in the Explanatory Notes relating to heading
8471 to the HS, in particular those in points 1 to 5 of the part of Chapter I D of the HS relating to display units for automatic
data-processing machines.

*The second question*

55      By its second question, the referring court asks the Court of Justice essentially whether Regulation No 754/2004 must be applied
retroactively.

56      Regulation No 754/2004 requires the classification under heading 8528 21 90 of the CN of colour plasma screens with a diagonal
screen measurement of 106 cm with the characteristics described in the annex to that regulation. It is apparent from the file
submitted to the Court that the imports of the goods at issue in the main proceedings took place on a date prior to the entry
into force of Regulation No 754/2004.

57      According to settled case-law, the principle of legal certainty precludes a regulation from being applied retroactively, regardless
of whether such application might produce favourable or unfavourable effects for the person concerned, unless a sufficiently
clear indication can be found, either in the terms of the regulation or its stated objectives, which allows the conclusion
to be drawn that the regulation was not merely providing for the future (*Duchon*, C‐290/00, EU:C:2002:234, paragraph 21 and the case-law cited). In the present case, nothing in the preamble to Regulation
No 754/2004, in the wording of its provisions or in its annex suggest that that regulation is to be applied retroactively.

58      In any event, the Court has already had occasion to state that a regulation specifying the conditions for classification in
a tariff heading or subheading of the CN cannot have retroactive effect (see, to that effect, *Siemens*, 30/71, EU:C:1971:111, paragraph 8; *Gervais-Danone*, 77/71, EU:C:1971:129, paragraph 8; and *Biegi*, 158/78, EU:C:1979:87, paragraph 11).

59      Consequently, the answer to the second question is that Regulation No 754/2004 cannot be applied retroactively.

**Costs**

60      Since these proceedings are, for the parties to the main proceedings, a step in the action pending before the national court,
the decision on costs is a matter for that court. Costs incurred in submitting observations to the Court, other than the costs
of those parties, are not recoverable.

On those grounds, the Court (Tenth Chamber) hereby rules:

1.      **For the purpose of tariff classification in the Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87
of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, in the versions resulting successively
from Commission Regulation (EC) No 2388/2000 of 13 October 2000, Commission Regulation (EC) No 2031/2001 of 6 August 2001,
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1832/2002 of 1 August 2002, and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1789/2003 of 11 September 2003
of screens with the objective characteristics at issue in the main proceedings, account should be taken of their inherent
intended purpose, which consists in reproducing the data from an automatic data-processing machine and from composite video
signals. Such screens must be classified under subheading 8471 60 90 of the Combined Nomenclature if they are used solely
or mainly in an automatic data-processing system, within the meaning of Note 5B(a) of Chapter 84 of the Combined Nomenclature,
or under subheading 8528 21 90 thereof if that is not the case, which is a matter for the national court to determine on the
basis of the objective characteristics of the screens at issue in the main proceedings, and in particular those mentioned
in the Explanatory Notes relating to heading 8471 of the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System established by
the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System concluded in Brussels on 14 June 1983,
with its amending protocol of 24 June 1986, in particular in points 1 to 5 of the part of Chapter I D relating to display
units for automatic data-processing machines.**

2.      **Commission Regulation (EC) No 754/2004 of 21 April 2004 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature
cannot be applied retroactively.**

[Signatures]

---

[\*](#Footref*) Language of the case: Italian.