3. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 28/11 
Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the information provided by the customs 
authorities of the Member States concerning the classification of goods in the customs nomen­
clature (') 
COM(88) 839 final — SYN 20 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 21 December 
1988) 
(89/C 28/11) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 A 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (2), 
In cooperation with the European Parliament (3), 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee (4), 
Whereas the conditions under which traders are able to 
obtain from the customs authorities information on the 
interpretation or practical application of Community 
customs rules differ appreciably in the various Member 
States; whereas the legal effect of such information also 
varies considerably, depending on the Member State in 
which it is provided; 
Whereas this situation results in considerable distortions 
of treatment between traders in the Community, 
depending on the Member State in which they operate; 
whereas such distortions of treatment are incompatible 
with the proper functioning of the customs union and 
also with the achievement of the internal market 
provided for in Article 8 a of the Treaty, since it is 
necessary to guarantee, as far as possible, equal 
treatment of traders within that market; 
Whereas it appears necessary, in order to ensure a 
measure of legal certainty for traders when carrying on 
their activities, to facilitate the work of the customs 
services themselves and secure more uniform application 
of Community customs law, to establish rules which 
oblige customs authorities to provide information which 
is binding on the administration under certain well 
defined conditions; 
Whereas the Council has already accepted the principle 
of the provision of information which is binding on the 
0) OJ No C 256, 8. 10. 1981, p. 10. 
O OJ No C 256, 8. 10. 1981, p. 10. 
(3) OJ No C 81, 22. 3. 1984, p. 7, and decision of 
(4) OJ No C 64, 15. 3. 1982, p. 13. administration in Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 of 24 
July 1979 on the post-clearance recovery of import or 
export duties which have not been required of the person 
liable for payment on goods entered for a customs 
procedure involving the obligation to pay such duties (s); 
Whereas, in view of the scale of structural adjustments 
which would be required in most of the customs admin­
istrations of the Member States by the establishement of 
rules of general application regarding the provision of 
information which is binding on the administration, it 
appears desirable, however, at the present time, to limit 
the scope of the Community rules to be adopted to 
information concerning the classification of goods in the 
customs nomenclature; whereas this is the most 
important and most useful category of information for 
traders because of the highly technical nature of the 
Common Customs Tariff and the Community nomen­
clatures derived from it; 
Whereas it is necessary to specify precisely the procedure 
to be followed in order to enable information provided 
by a customs authority of a Member State concerning 
the classification of goods in the customs nomenclature 
to bind the administration of that Member State and 
from 1 January 1993 the administrations of all Member 
States; whereas it is also necessary to lay down the 
conditions governing the use of such information by the 
holder; 
Whereas information provided in accordance with the 
procedure laid down can bind the administration only in 
respect of the classification of the goods in question in 
the customs nomenclature; whereas such information 
cannot affect the rate of duty or any other measure 
deriving from that classification which apply at the time 
of completion of the customs formalities relating to those 
goods; 
Whereas on grounds of sound administration, it is 
necessary to establish a time limit after which the infor­
mation provided can no longer be relied upon by the 
holder thereof; whereas, however, the time limit laid 
down must correspond to the realities of international 
trade; whereas it is also necessary to lay down the 
conditions under which the information provided ceases 
to bind the administration before the expiry of that time 
limit, as a result of the adoption of Community measures 
amending the existing law; 
O OJ No L 197, 3. 8. 1979, p. 1. 
No C 28/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 2. 89 
Whereas it is necessary to lay down provisions 
concerning the communication to the Commission of all 
binding tariff information provided by the competent 
authorities of the Member States and concerning the 
cooperation between the latter and the Commission; 
Whereas uniform application of the common rules laid 
down by this Regulation must be ensured and to that 
end a Community procedure must be provided enabling 
measures implementing these rules to be adopted within 
appropriate periods, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
1. This Regulation lays down: 
(a) the conditions under which information concerning 
the classification of goods in the customs nomen­
clature, hereinafter referred to as 'tariff information', 
may be obtained from the competent customs auth­
orities of the Member States; 
(b) the legal effect of such information. 
2. For the purposes of this Regulation, 'customs 
nomenclature' means: 
— the combined nomenclature, 
— the Taric nomenclature and any other nomenclature 
which is wholly or partly based on the combined 
nomenclature or which adds any subdivisions to it, 
and which is established by specific Community 
provisions with a view to the application of tariff or 
other measures relating to trade in goods. 
TITLE I 
General provisions 
Article 2 
1. Any natural or legal person may apply to the 
competent customs authorities for tariff information. 
2. Tariff information shall be provided to the 
applicant free of charge. However, where expenditure is 
incurred as a result of analysing, or obtaining an expert's 
report on any samples sent to the competent customs 
authority and returning them to the applicant, such 
expenditure may be charged to the latter. 
Article 3 
1. Where the conditions laid down in Articles 4 to 8 
are fulfilled, the tariff information provided by the 
competent customs authority shall be binding on the 
administration of the Member State in question and shall 
constitute binding tariff information within the meaning 
of this Regulation. 2. From 1 January 1993, such binding tariff infor­
mation shall become binding on the administrations of 
all Member States and shall remain binding under the 
same conditions as those laid down by this Regulation 
with regard to the legal effects of the binding tariff 
information in the Member State which provided it. 
TITLE II 
Procedure for obtaining binding tariff information 
Article 4 
1. Application for binding tariff information shall be 
made in writing to the competent customs authority of a 
Member State in which such information is to be used or 
to the competent customs authority of the Member State 
where the applicant is established. 
The competent administration in each Member State 
shall determine the form and procedure for drawing up 
the application referred to in the preceding subparagraph 
and shall designate the authority to which it must be 
submitted. 
2. The competent administration in each Member 
State may limit the number of goods which may be 
covered by a single application. 
Article 5 
1. Applications for binding tariff information shall 
include, inter alia, the following particulars: 
(a) the name and address of the applicant. Where the 
application is submitted by a natural or legal person 
acting on behalf of another person, the name and 
address of the latter shall also be shown on the 
application; 
(b) the particulars, including, where appropriate, the use 
to which the goods are to be put, which are 
necessary to enable the competent customs authority 
to reach a decision; 
where classification of the goods in the customs 
nomenclature depends on the level of certain 
substances in the goods in question, that level and, 
where appropriate, the methods of analysis used for 
determining it shall be notified to the competent 
customs authority; 
(c) where an application for binding tariff information 
has been submitted in respect of identical goods in 
another Member State, the references relating to that 
application together with the classification 
determined in that Member State, where appropriate. 
2. The competent administration in each Member 
State may also stipulate that applications for binding 
tariff information shall indicate the customs office or 
offices at which the customs formalities relating to the 
goods in question are expected to be carried out. 
3. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 28/13 
3. Requests for binding tariff information must, where 
appropriate, be accompanied by representative samples 
of the goods or, where samples cannot be taken because 
of the nature of the goods, by photographs, plans, cata­
logues and other such technical documents as may assist 
the competent customs authority to determine the classi­
fication of the goods in the customs nomenclature. 
Documents enclosed with the applications shall, where 
appropriate, be accompanied by a translation into the 
official language or one of the official languages of the 
Member State concerned. 
4. Where the applicant wishes to obtain the classifi­
cation of goods in one of the nomenclatures referred to 
in Article 1 (2) second indent, the application for binding 
information shall make express mention of the nomen­
clature in question. 
Article 6 
Where the competent customs authority to which 
application for binding tariff information has been 
submitted considers that the application does not contain 
all the particulars needed to enable it to reach a decision, 
it shall invite the applicant to furnish the missing 
particulars, indicating that the application cannot be 
considered as it stands. 
Article 7 
Where a Member State to whose customs authority an 
application for binding tariff information is made 
considers it necessary for the purpose of ensuring 
uniform interpretation of the customs nomenclature 
under the best conditions, it shall take the measures 
necessary to submit the matter for examination by the 
Nomenclature Committee in accordance with Article 8 
of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87. 
Article 8 
1. Binding tariff information must be notified to the 
applicant in writing and must contain, inter alia, the 
following particulars: 
(a) the references relating to the application for infor­
mation; 
(b) a precise description of the goods in question to 
enable them to be accurately identified at the time of 
the customs formalities; 
(c) the levels of certain substances in the goods, where 
such indication is necessary to enable the goods to be 
classified in the customs nomenclature, together with 
the methods of analysis on which the information is 
based; 
(d) the classification of the goods in the customs nomen­
clature; 
(e) the name and address of the person entitled to rely 
upon such information, hereinafter referred to as the 
'holder'; 
(f) the date on which the information was supplied. 
2. Where the competent administration of the 
Member State in which the binding tariff information is 
to be used requires the applicant to indicate the customs office or offices in which he intends to complete the 
customs formalities relating to the goods in question, 
those offices must be indicated in the binding tariff 
information. In the absence of such requirement, the 
binding tariff information may be used in any customs 
office of the Member State in which it was supplied 
which is empowered to complete the customs formalities 
relating to the goods in question. 
3. Where a binding tariff information has become 
binding on the administrations of all Member States in 
accordance with Article 3 (2), it may be used in any 
customs office of the Member States empowered to 
complete the customs formalities relating to the goods in 
question. However, a Member State may notify the 
holder in writing that the binding tariff information may 
only be used at certain customs offices indicated in the 
notification. 
Article 9 
1. A copy of the notification to the applicant of 
binding tariff information must be communicated to the 
Commission at the same time as it is sent to the 
applicant. 
2. Where a Member State so requests, the 
Commission shall inform it of notifications received 
concerning specific goods or group of goods. 
3. The communications may be in writing or in elec­
tronic form. 
4. Any information communicated pursuant to this 
Article to Member States or to the Commission shall be 
covered by the obligation of professional secrecy to the 
extent necessary to protect the applicant's commercial 
secrets. 
TITLE III 
Legal effect of binding tariff information 
Article 10 
1. Binding tariff information may be invoked only by 
the holder thereof, his sucessors or beneficiaries or by a 
person acting on their behalf. It shall be presented at the 
customs service at the time of completion of the customs 
formalities relating to the goods in respect of which the 
holder intends to rely upon such information. 
2. The holder of binding information may rely upon it 
in respect of particular goods only where it is established 
to the satisfaction of the customs service that the goods 
in question conform in all respects to those described in 
the information presented. 
No C 28/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 2. 89 
At the time of customs clearance, the customs service 
may carry out any check or examination which it deems 
useful in order to satisfy itself that the goods presented 
are in fact those in respect of which the information has 
been given. 
Article 11 
1. Binding tariff information shall be binding on the 
administration only in respect of the classification of 
goods in the customs nomenclature. It shall be without 
prejudice to the rate or amount of import or export 
duties or other Community provisions which may be 
applied to the goods in question by virtue of that classifi­
cation. 
2. Binding tariff information shall have effect only in 
regard to goods in respect of which the customs 
formalities are completed after the date on which such 
information is provided by the competent customs 
authority. 
3. Binding tariff information shall be devoid of effect 
where it is established that it was provided on the basis 
of inaccurate or incomplete data. 
Article 12 
Where binding tariff information indicates the customs 
office or offices at which it may be used, it shall be 
binding on the administration only where the customs 
formalities relating to the goods in question are 
completed at one of those offices. 
The customs authority which provided the binding tariff 
information may, however, authorize its use at other 
customs offices, on condition that prior application 
therefor is made by the holder. 
Article 13 
Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 14 and 
15, binding tariff information may not be relied upon 
after a period of six years from the date on which it was 
provided. 
Article 14 
Where, as a result of the adoption of: 
— a regulation amending the customs nomenclature, or 
— a regulation determining or affecting the classifi­
cation of goods in the customs nomenclature, 
binding tariff information previously supplied is not in 
conformity with Community law as thus established, 
such information shall cease to be binding on the admin­
istration from the date of entry into force of the regu­
lation in question. 
Article 15 
1. In addition to the cases referred to in Article 14, 
tariff information shall also cease to be binding on the administration where such information is no longer 
compatible with the interpretation of the customs 
nomenclature as a result of: 
(a) the adoption of any one of the following Community 
tariff measures (published in part C of the Official 
Journal of the European Communities): 
— amendment of the Explanatory Notes of the 
combined nomenclature, 
— adoption of a Community classification slip, 
— agreement reached in the Nomenclature 
Committee on the classification of goods, 
recorded in the minutes of the meeting at which 
it was reached, 
or, 
(b) the transposition into Community law of the 
following international tariff measures: 
— amendment of the Explanatory Notes to the 
Harmonized System Nomenclature, 
— a classification opinion of the Customs 
Cooperation Council, 
or 
(c) a judgment of the Court of Justice contrary to 
binding tariff information supplied. 
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3, 
the date on which the administration ceases to be bound 
by binding tariff information, pursuant to paragraph 1, 
shall be the date on which the holder is informed that 
that information is not in conformity with one of the 
tariff measures referred to in paragraph 1. 
Holders of binding tariff information shall be informed 
that the latter is not in conformity with one of the tariff 
measures referred to in paragraph 1: 
— in the case of a tariff measure referred to in 
paragraph 1 (a), by a Communication from the 
Commission published in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities or, where the administration 
considers it necessary, by individual notification to 
the various holders of the binding information 
affected by the tariff measure adopted, 
— in the case of a tariff measure referred to in 
paragraph 1 (b), at the option of the administration, 
either by a notice of general application published, 
where appropriate, in an official national publication 
or by individual notification to the various holders of 
the binding tariff information affected by the tariff 
measure adopted. 
3. In the case of products in respect of which an 
import or export licence or advance-fixing certificate is 
submitted when the customs formalities are completed, 
the binding tariff information which ceases to be binding 
on the administration pursuant to paragraph 1 may 
continue to be relied on by the holder of the information 
during the remainder of the period of validity of that 
licence or certificate. 
3. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 28/15 
In other cases, the binding tariff information which 
ceases to be binding on the administration pursuant to 
paragraph 1 may continue to be relied upon by the 
holder thereof for a period of six months from the date 
on which he is notified of its non-conformity, as 
provided in paragraph 2, where it is established to the 
satisfaction of the customs service that the holder 
concluded, on the basis of the binding tariff information 
supplied to him and prior to the date of adoption of the 
tariff measure in question: 
(a) where such information is relied upon for the import 
of goods: 
— a binding contract for the purchase of the goods 
in question, from a supplier established in a 
non-member country, or, 
— a binding contract for the sale of the goods in 
question, in an unaltered state or after 
processing, to a customer established in the 
Community. 
(b) where such information is relied upon for the export 
of goods: 
— a binding contract for the sale of the goods in 
question to a customer established in a 
non-member country, or, 
— a binding contract for the purchase of the goods 
in question from a supplier established in the 
Community. 
4. The application under the conditions laid down in 
paragraph 3 of the classification given in the binding 
tariff information shall have effect only in regard to: 
— the determination of the import or export duties or 
the calculation of export refunds and any other 
amounts granted on imports or exports within the 
framework of the common agricultural policy, and 
— the use of import or export licences or advance-fixing 
certificates which were already in existence on the 
date on which the information was provided to the 
holder under the conditions provided for in 
paragraph 2 and which are submitted at the time of 
completion of the formalities with a view to the 
acceptance of the customs declaration for the goods 
in question, on condition that such licences or 
certificates were issued on the basis of the said 
binding tariff information. 
5. In exceptional cases where there is a risk that the 
working of arrangements set up within the framework of 
the common agricultural policy may be jeopardized, the 
decision may be taken, in accordance with the procedure 
laid down in Article 38 of Regulation (EEC) No 136/66 (l) and in the corresponding articles of the other 
regulations on the common organization of the markets, 
to derogate from the provisions of paragraph 3. 
Article 16 
Upon the adoption of one of the tariff measures referred 
to in Articles 14 or 15 (1), Member States shall take the 
necessary steps to ensure that binding tariff information 
provided by the competent customs authorities is in 
conformity with the measures in question. 
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply 
even where a specific date is laid down for the entry into 
force of the tariff measure in question. 
Article 17 
Where the competent customs authority amends binding 
tariff information for a reason other than those referred 
to in Articles 14 and 15 (1), the information originally 
supplied shall cease to be binding on the authority from 
the date on which such amendment is notified to the 
holder. 
The provisions of Article 15 (3) shall, however, also 
apply. 
TITLE IV 
Final provisions 
Article 18 
1. The Nomenclature Committee provided for in 
Article 7 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 may 
examine any question concerning the application of this 
Regulation which is raised by its chairman, either on his 
own initiative or at the request of a Member State. 
2. The provisions required for applying this Regu­
lation shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure 
laid down in Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 
2658/87. 
Article 19 
This Regulation shall enter into force 12 months from 
the date of its adoption. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
(') OJ No 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66.