Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2006:56
Date: 2006-01-19
Language of the case: Dutch
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Common customs tariff;Customs Union
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment Common Customs Tariff – Tariff headings – Sterile flakes of polydimethilsiloxane 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, is to be interpreted as meaning that a product, such as the polydimethilsiloxane, made up of sterile flakes, specially developed and intended only to be implanted in the body for the treatment of a condition and which is packaged at the time of its presentation to customs in l kg bags, is to be regarded as an appliance to be implanted in the body which must be classified under heading 9021 of the Combined Nomenclature. Since the purpose of such a product is not to replace an organ but to enable a defective muscle to create connective tissues, it must be classified under subheading 9021 90 90 of the Combined Nomenclature. (see para. 57, operative part)