Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2008:302
Date: 2008-05-22
Language of the case: Danish
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Common customs tariff;Customs Union
Concepts: The various tariff headings
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Denmark

Summary of the Judgment 1. Common Customs Tariff – Tariff headings – Footwear with uppers of leather and textile materials – Classification under heading 6403 or under heading 6404 of the Combined Nomenclature (Council Regulation No 2658/87, Annex I, headings 6403 and 6404; Commission Regulation No 2388/2000) 2. Common Customs Tariff – Tariff headings – Explanatory Notes to the Combined Nomenclature – Additional Note 1 to Chapter 64 of the Combined Nomenclature (Council Regulation No 2658/87; Commission Regulation No 3800/92) 1. The Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Regulation No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, as amended by Regulation No 2388/2000, must be interpreted as meaning that a sandal such as that in question in the main proceedings, with an outer sole of rubber, whose upper is made up of two leather sections glued to the inner sole and linked to each other by leather fastening straps covered with Velcro strips, with the leather making up around 71% of the upper’s external surface area and the elastic textile material underneath the leather remaining exposed in places, falls within: - heading 6404 of the Combined Nomenclature if the textile material of the upper of the sandal, without the leather sections, fulfils the purpose of an upper, that is to say, provides sufficient support for the foot to enable the wearer to walk in the sandal; - heading 6403 of the Combined Nomenclature if the textile material of the upper of the sandal, without the leather sections, does not fulfil the purpose of an upper, that is to say, it does not provide sufficient support for the foot to enable the wearer to walk in the sandal. It is for the national court to make the necessary findings in that regard. (see paras 43, 48, operative part 1) 2. Additional Note 1 to Chapter 64 of the Combined Nomenclature, inserted by Regulation No 3800/92 amending Regulation No 2658/87, is compatible with Note 4(a) to that chapter. (see para. 57, operative part 2)