Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2006:384
Date: 2006-06-08
Language of the case: German
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 Judgment Common Customs Tariff – Tariff headings – Ink cartridge without an integrated print head for use in only one particular type of printer – Classification under subheading 3215 90 80 of the Combined Nomenclature Annex I to Regulation No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, as amended by Regulation No 1734/96, must be interpreted as meaning that an ink cartridge without an integrated print head consisting of plastic casing, foam, a metal screen, seals, tape seal, labels, ink and packing material, which, as regards both the cartridge and the ink, can only be used in a printer of a particular type, must be classified, pursuant to general rule 3(b) for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature, under subheading 3215 90 80 of the Combined Nomenclature. Even if the ink cartridge in question is constructed in such a way that the printer does not function in the absence of that cartridge, the fact remains that the ink contained in the cartridge is the most important factor for the purpose of using the goods at issue. The ink cartridge is inserted into the printer not in order to make the printer itself function but specifically to supply it with ink. Therefore, the ink must be regarded as determining the essential character of the cartridge. In that respect, the tariff classification of ink cartridges with an integrated print head, composed of other materials, under heading 8473 does not necessarily determine the tariff classification of the ink cartridge in question. (see paras 23-25, operative part)