1987R2658 — EN — 01.01.1996 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)No 2658/87
of 23 July 1987
on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff
(OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/89 of 23 November 1989 L347 1 28.11.1989
►M2Council Regulation (EEC) No 3845/89 of 18 December 1989 L374 2 22.12.1989
►M3Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 L302 1 19.10.1992
►M4Council Regulation (EEC) No 1969/93 of 19 July 1993 L180 9 23.7.1993
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COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)No 2658/87
of 23 July 1987
on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common
Customs Tariff
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
▼M1
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European EconomicCommunity, and in particular Articles 28, 43 and 113 thereof,
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Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee(3),
Whereas the European Economic Community is based on a customs
union involving the use of a common customs tariff;
Whereasthecollectionandexchangeofdataonthestatisticsofexternal
trade of the Community can best be achieved through the use of acombinednomenclaturereplacingtheexistingCommonCustomsTariffand Nimexe nomenclatures, in order to meet tariff and statisticalrequirements simultaneously;
WhereastheCommunityisasignatorytotheInternationalConvention
ontheHarmonizedCommodityDescriptionandCodingSystem,knownasthe‘harmonizedsystem',whichisintendedtoreplacetheConventionof15December1950onNomenclaturefortheClassificationofGoodsin Customs Tariffs; whereas, as a consequence, the said combinednomenclature must be established on the basis of the harmonizedsystem;
Whereas it is appropriate to allow Member States to create national
statistical subdivisions;
Whereas certain specific Community measures cannot be dealt with in
the framework of the combined nomenclature; whereas it is thereforenecessary to create additional Community subdivisions and to includethem in an integrated tariff of the European Communities (Taric);whereas the efficient management of the Taric requires a system forimmediateupdating;whereasitisthereforenecessarythattheCommis-sion should be empowered to manage the Taric;
WhereasSpainandPortugalwillnotbeabletousetheTariclayoutin
thesamemannerastheotherMemberStatesbecauseofthetransitionaltariff arrangements provided for in the Act of Accession; whereas it isappropriate that these two Member States should be authorized not toapply the Taric for the periods during which the transitional arange-ments apply;
Whereas it appears appropriate that Member States should be able to
insert further subdivisions after the Taric subheadings in order to meetadditional national requirements; whereas these subdivisions should beidentified by appropriate code numbers in accordance with the provi-sions of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2793/86 of 22 July 1986layingdownthecodestobeusedintheformslaiddowninRegulations(EEC) No 678/85, (EEC) No 1900/85 and (EEC) No 222/77(
4);
(1) OJ No C 154, 12. 6. 1987, p. 6.
(2) OJ No C 190, 20. 7. 1987.
(3) Opinion delivered on 1 July 1987 (not yet published in the Official
Journal).
(4) OJ No L 263, 15. 9. 1986, p. 74.
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Whereas it is essential that the combined nomenclature and any other
nomenclature wholly or partly based on it, or which adds subdivisionstoit,shouldbeappliedinauniformmannerbyalltheMemberStates;whereas provisions to this effect must be able to be adopted atCommunity level; whereas, furthermore, the Community provisionsensuring uniform application of the nomenclature of the CommonCustoms Tariff contained in Decision 86/98/ECSC(
1) are applicable to
products falling within the province of the Treaty establishing theEuropean Coal and Steel Community;
Whereas the preparation and application of these provisions requires
close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission;whereas the implementation of these provisions must be carried outrapidly in view of the serious economic consequences that any delaymight entail;
Whereas, in order to ensure uniform application of the combined
nomenclature, it is necessary for the Commission to be assisted by acommitteeresponsibleforallquestionsrelatingtothecombinednomen-clature, to the Taric and to all other nomenclatures based on thecombinednomenclature;whereasthisCommitteemustbeoperationalassoon as possible prior to the date of application of the combinednomenclature;
Whereas,inordertodefinethescopeofthecombinednomenclature,it
is desirable to lay down preliminary provisions, additional section andchapter notes and suitable footnotes;
WhereastheCommonCustomsTariffconsistsnotonlyoftheconven-
tionalandautonomousdutiesandotherrelevantchargesfixedinAnnexItothisRegulationonthebasisofthecombinednomenclature,butalsoof the tariff measures contained in the Taric and other Communitylegislation;
Whereasinfixingtheconventionalratesofdutyitisappropriatetotake
account of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) nego-tiations;
Whereas the transition from the former nomenclature to the combined
nomenclature may involve difficulties with the application of originrules in respect of certain preference systems, in particular where thethirdcountryinvolvedhasnotadoptedtheharmonizedsystem;whereasitisappropriateinthesecircumstancestoprovideforsuitablemeasuresintended to remedy these difficulties;
Whereas, although the nomenclature and the rates of customs duties
relating to products covered by the Treaty establishing the EuropeanCoal and Steel Community do not form part of the Common CustomsTariff,itisneverthelessappropriatetoincludetheconventionalratesforthese products for information in this Regulation;
Whereas, following the setting-up of the combined nomenclature,
numerous Community acts in particular in the field of the commonagriculturalpolicymustbeadaptedtotakeintoaccounttheuseofthisnomenclature; whereas these adaptations do not as a general rule callforanyamendmentofsubstance;whereasforpurposesofsimplificationit is appropriate to enable the Commission to adopt the necessarytechnical amendments to the acts in question;
Whereas the entry into force of this Regulation involves the repeal of
CouncilRegulation(EEC)No950/68of28June1968ontheCommonCustoms Tariff(
2) and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 97/69 of 16
January1969onmeasurestobetakenfortheuniformapplicationofthenomenclature of the Common Customs Tariff(
3), as last amended by
Regulation (EEC) No 2055/84(4),
(1) OJ No L 81, 26. 3. 1986, p. 29.
(2) OJ No L 172, 22. 7. 1968, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 14, 21. 1. 1969, p. 1.
(4) OJ No L 191, 19. 7. 1984, p. 1.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. A goods nomenclature, hereinafter called the ‘combined nomen-
clature',or in abbreviated form ‘CN',is hereby established to meet, atoneandthesametime,therequirementsbothoftheCommonCustomsTariff and of the external trade statistics of the Community.
2. The combined nomenclature shall comprise:
(a) the harmonized system nomenclature;
(b) Community subdivisions to that nomenclature, referred to as ‘CN
subheadings'in those cases where a corresponding rate of duty isspecified;
(c) preliminaryprovisions,additionalsectionorchapternotesandfoot-
notes relating to CNsubheadings.
3. The combined nomenclature is reproduced in Annex I.The autonomous and conventional rates of duty of the Common
CustomsTariffandthesupplementarystatisticalunits,aswellasothernecessary information, are laid down in the said Annex.
Article 2
The Commission shall establish an integrated tariff, of the European
Communities, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Taric', based on thecombined nomenclature. It shall comprise:
(a) additional Community subdivisions, referred to as ‘Taric subhea-
dings',whichareneededforthedescriptionofgoodssubjecttothespecific Community measures listed in Annex II;
(b) the rates of customs duty and other charges applicable;
(c) the code numbers mentioned in Article 3 (3) and (4);
(d) anyotherinformationnecessaryfortheimplementationormanage-
ment of the Community measures involved.
Article 3
1. Each CNsubheading shall have an eight digit code number:
(a) thefirstsixdigitsshallbethecodenumbersrelatingtotheheadings
and subheadings of the harmonized system nomenclature;
(b) the seventh and eighth digits shall identify the CNsubheadings.
When a heading or subheading of the harmonized system is notfurthersubdividedforCommunitypurposes,theseventhandeighthdigits shall be ‘00'.
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2. The Taric subheadings shall be identified by the 9th and 10thdigitswhich,togetherwiththecodenumbersreferredtoinparagraph1,formtheTariccodenumbers.IntheabsenceofaCommunitysubdivi-sion, the 9th and 10th digits shall be ‘00'.
3. Exceptionally, additional Taric codes of four characters may be
usedfortheapplicationofspecificCommunitymeasureswhicharenotcoded, or not entirely coded, at the 9th and 10th digit level.
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Article 4
1. The combined nomenclature, together with the rates of duty and
other relevant charges, and the tariff measures included in the Taric orinotherCommunityarrangementsshallconstitutethecommoncustomstariffreferredtoinArticle9oftheTreaty,whichshallbeappliedontheimportation of goods into the Community.
2. The combined nomenclature, including its code numbers and,
whereappropriate,thesupplementarystatisticalunitsrelatingtoit,shall
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beappliedbytheCommunityandbytheMemberStatestothestatistics
relating to the external trade of the Community.
Article 5
1. The Taric shall be used by the Commission and the Member
States for the application of Community measures concerning importsand, where necessary, exports and trade between Member States.
2. The Taric code numbers shall be applied to all importations of
goods covered by the corresponding subheadings. They shall, wherenecessary, be applied to exports and to trade between Member States.
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M4
3. MemberStatesmayusesubdivisionswhichmeetnationalrequire-ments; identifying codes shall be assigned to such subdivisions inaccordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92(
1).
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Article 6
TheCommissionshallberesponsibleforthemanagementandpublica-
tion of the Taric. It shall, in particular, take the steps necessary to:
(a) integrate the measures listed in Annex II into the Taric;
(b) attribute Taric code numbers;
(c) update the Taric;
(d) informMemberStatesimmediatelyofchangestoTaricsubheadings
and numeric codes.
▼M3
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Article 8
The committee ►M3provided for in Article 247 of the Community
Customs Code ◄may examine any matter referred to it by its
chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request of a repres-entative of a Member State:
(a) concerning the combined nomenclature;
(b) concerning the Taric nomenclature and any other nomenclature
which is wholly or partly based on the combined nomenclature orwhich adds any subdivisions to it, and which is established byspecific Community provisions with a view to the application oftariff or other measures relating to trade in goods.
Article 9
1. Measuresrelatingtothematterssetoutbelowshallbeadoptedin
accordance with the procedure defined in Article 10:
(a) applicationofthecombinednomenclatureandtheTaricconcerning
in particular:
— the classification of goods in the nomenclatures referred to in
Article 8,
— explanatory notes;
(b) amendments to the combined nomenclature to take account of
changes in requirements relating to statistics or to commercialpolicy;
(c) amendments to Annex II;
(d) amendments to the combined nomenclature and adjustments to
duties in accordance with decisions adopted by the Council or theCommission;
(1) OJ No L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1.
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(e) amendments to the combined nomenclature intended to adapt it to
takeaccountoftechnologicalorcommercialdevelopmentsoraimedat the alignment or clarification of texts;
(f) amendments to the combined nomenclature resulting from changes
to the harmonized system nomenclature;
(g) questions relating to the application, functioning and management
of the harmonized system to be discussed within the CustomsCooperation Council.
2. The provisions adopted under paragraph 1 shall not amend:
— the rates of customs duties,— agricultural levies, refunds or other amounts applicable within the
framework of the common agricultural policy or within that ofspecific schemes applicable to certain goods resulting from theprocessing of agricultural products,
— quantitative restrictions laid down under Community provisions,— nomenclatures adopted within the framework of the common agri-
cultural policy.
3. Ifnecessary,amendmentstoCNsubheadingsshallbeimmediately
included as Taric subheadings. They shall only be included in the CNunder the conditions referred to in Article 12.
Article 10
1.►
M3The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
committeeprovidedforinArticle247oftheCommunityCustomsCodea draft◄of the measures to be adopted. The committee shall deliver
itsopiniononthedraftwithinatimelimitwhichthechairmanmaylaydown according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall bedeliveredbythemajoritylaiddowninArticle148(2)oftheTreatyinthe case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on aproposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of theMember States within the committee shall be weighted in the mannerset out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
2. The Commission shall adopt the measures, which shall apply
immediately.However,ifthosemeasuresarenotinaccordancewiththeopinionofthecommittee,theyshallbecommunicatedbytheCommis-siontotheCouncilforthwith.InthateventtheCommissionshalldeferapplicationofthemeasureswhichithasdecideduponforthreemonthsfrom the date of such communication.
3. The Council, acting by qualified majority, may take a different
decision within the period referred to in paragraph 2.
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M3
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Article 12
The Commission shall adopt each year by means of a Regulation a
completeversionofthecombinednomenclaturetogetherwiththecorre-sponding autonomous and conventional rates of duty of the CommonCustoms Tariff, as it results from measures adopted by the Council orby the Commission. The said Regulation shall be published not laterthan 31 October in the Official Journal of the European Communities
and it shall apply from 1 January of the following year.
Article 13
TheKingdomofSpainandthePortugueseRepublicareherebyauthor-
izednottoapplytheTaricfortheperiodsduringwhichthetransitionalarrangements pertaining to tariff matters provided for in the Act ofAccession to the Community apply.
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Article 14
Where a tariff preference is granted on the basis or rules of origin
derived from the nomenclature of the Customs Cooperation Council inforce on 31 December 1987, those rules shall remain applicable inaccordance with the Community acts in force on that date.
Article 15
1. The codes and the descriptions of goods established on the basis
of the combined nomenclature shall replace those established on thebasis of the nomenclatures of the Common Customs Tariff and theNimexe,withoutprejudicetointernationalagreementsconcludedbytheCommunity before the entry into force of this Regulation, and to actstakeninimplementationthereof,whichrefertothesaidnomenclatures.
Community acts which include the tariff or statistical nomenclature
shall be amended accordingly by the Commission.
2. ReferencestotheNimexeinthevariousCommunityactsinforce
shall be deemed to refer to the combined nomenclature.
Article 16
Regulations(EEC)No950/68and(EEC)No97/69areherebyrepealed.
Article 17
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day followings its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Articles 1 to 5 and 12 to 16 shall not apply until 1 January 1988.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicablein
all Member States.