Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1997:455
Date: 1997-10-02
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: Germany

Summary of the J u d g m e n t 
Common Customs Tariff — Tariff headings — Data processing for the purposes of heading No 
8471 of the Combined Nomendature — Concept — Processing of image data — Included — 
Machine units having a 'specific function' within the meaning of Note i(B) to Chapter 84 of the 
Combined NomencUture — Concept — Processing of image data with an automatic data-
processing machine unit which includes an analogue/'digital converter, a high-quality graphics 
processor and a digital/analogue converter — Excluded 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-382/95 
The term 'data-processing' within the mean­
ing of heading N o 8471 of the Combined 
Nomenclature of the Common Customs 
Tariff in Annex I to Regulation N o 2658/87, 
as amended by the annexes to Regulations 
Nos 3174/88, 2886/89 and 2472/90, covers 
the processing of images. 
Image processing, as it can be carried out 
with an automatic data-processing machine 
unit which includes, inter alia, an analogue/ 
digital converter, a high-quality graphics 
processor and a digital/analogue converter, 
and which enables an entire automatic data-
processing machine to perform certain func­
tions, is not to be regarded as the perfor­
mance of a 'spécifie function' for the 
purposes of the last paragraph of Note 5(B) 
of Chapter 84 of the Combined Nomencla­
ture. 
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