No C 154/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 12.6.87 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the 
Common Customs Tariff 
COM(87) 228 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 25 May 1987) 
(87 /C 154/06) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 28, 43 
and 113 thereof, 
Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and 
Portugal, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the European Economic Community is based 
on a customs union involving the use of a Common 
Customs Tariff; 
"Whereas the collection and exchange of data on the 
statistics of external trade of the Community can best be 
achieved through the use of a combined nomenclature 
replacing the existing Common Customs Tariff and 
NIMEXE nomenclatures, in order to meet simul­
taneously the tariff and statistical requirements; 
Whereas the Community is a signatory of the Inter­
national Convention on the Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System, known as the 
'Harmonized System', which is intended to replace the 
Convention of 15 December 1950 on the Nomenclature 
for the Classification of Goods in Customs Tariffs; 
whereas, as a consequence, the said combined 
nomenclature must be established on the basis of the 
Harmonized System; 
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 therefore necessary to create 
additional Community subdivisions and to include them 
in an integrated tariff of the European Communities 
(TARIC); whereas the efficient management of the 
TARIC requires a system for immediate updating; 
whereas it is therefore necessary that the Commission 
should be empowered to manage the TARIC; Whereas Spain and Portugal will not be able to use the 
TARIC layout in the same manner as the other Member 
States because of the transitional tariff arrangements 
provided for in the Act of Accession; whereas it is appro­
priate that these two Member States should be auth­
orized not to apply the TARIC for the periods during 
which the transitional arrangements apply; 
Whereas it appears appropriate that Member States 
should be able to insert further subdivisions after the 
TARIC subheadings in order to meet additional national 
requirements; whereas these subdivisions should be 
identified by appropriate code numbers in accordance 
with the provisions of Commission Regulation (EEC) 
No 2793/86 of 22 July 1986 laying down the codes to be 
used in the forms laid down in Council Regulations 
(EEC) No 678/85, (EEC) No 1900/85 and (EEC) No 
222/77 ('); 
Whereas it is essential that the combined nomenclature 
and any other nomenclature partly based on it or which 
adds subdivisions to it, should be applied in a uniform 
manner by all the Member States; whereas provisions to 
this effect must be able to be adopted at Community 
level; whereas, furthermore, the existing Community 
provisions ensuring a uniform application of the 
nomenclature of the common customs tariff contained in 
Decision 86/98/ECSC (2) are applicable to products 
which are the subject of the ECSC Treaty; 
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 out 
rapidly in view of the serious economic consequences 
that any delay might entail; 
Whereas in order to ensure the uniform application of 
the combined nomenclature it is necessary to set up a 
management committee responsible for all questions 
relating to the said nomenclature, to the TARIC and to 
all other nomenclatures based on the combined 
nomenclature; whereas this Committee must be oper­
ational as soon as possible prior to the date of 
application of the combined nomenclature; 
0) OJ No L 263, 15. 9. 1986, p. 74. 
O OJ No L 81, 26. 3. 1986, p. 29. 
12.6. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 154/7 
Whereas in order to define the scope of the combined 
nomenclature it is desirable to lay down preliminary 
provisions, additional section and chapter notes and 
suitable footnotes; 
Whereas the Common Customs Tariff consists not only 
of the conventional and autonomous duties and other 
relevant charges fixed at Annex I to this Regulation on 
the basis of the combined nomenclature, but also the 
tariff measures contained in the TARIC and other 
Community legislation; 
Whereas in fixing the conventional rates of duty it is 
appropriate to take account of GATT negotiations; 
Whereas the transition from the former nomenclature to 
the combined nomenclature may involve difficulties with 
the application of origin rules in respect of certain pref­
erence systems, in particular where the third country 
involved has not adopted the Harmonized System; it is 
appropriate in these circumstances to provide for suitable 
measures intended to remedy these difficulties; 
Whereas although the rates of customs duties relating to 
products covered by the Treaty establishing the 
European Coal and Steel Community do not form part 
of the Common Customs Tariff, it is nevertheless appro­
priate to include the conventional rates for these 
products for information in the present Regulation; 
Whereas, following the setting up of the combined 
nomenclature, numerous Community acts in particular in 
the field of the common agricultural policy must be 
adapted to take into account the use of this 
nomenclature; whereas these adaptations do not as a 
general rule, necessitate any amendment of substance; 
whereas for purposes of simplification it is appropriate to 
enable the Commission to adopt the necessary technical 
amendments to the acts in question; 
Whereas the entry into force of this Regulation involves 
the repeal of Council Regulation (EEC) No 950/68 of 
28 June 1968 on the Common Customs Tariff (x) and of 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 97/69 of 16 January 1969 
on measures to be taken for the uniform application of 
the nomenclature of the Common Customs Tariff (2), as 
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2055/84 (3), 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
1. A goods nomenclature, hereinafter called the 
'Combined Nomenclature', or in abbreviated form 'CN', 
is hereby established to meet, at one and the same time, 
the requirements both of the Common Customs Tariff 
and of the external trade statistics of the Community. 
(') OJ No L 172, 22. 7. 1968, p. 1. 
C) OJNoL14, 21. 1. 1969, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 191, 19. 7. 1984, p. 1. 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 is specified; 
(c) preliminary provisions, additional section or chapter 
Notes, and footnotes relating to the CN subheadings 
mentioned in (b). 
3. The Combined Nomenclature is reproduced in 
Annex I. 
The autonomous and conventional rates of duty of the 
Common Customs Tariff and the supplementary stat­
istical units, as well as other necessary elements, are laid 
down in the same Annex. 
Article 2 
The Commission shall establish an integrated tariff of the 
European Communities, hereinafter referred to as 'the 
TARIC, based on the Combined Nomenclature. It shall 
comprise: 
(a) additional Community subdivisions, referred to as 
'TARIC subheadings', which are needed for the 
description of goods subject to the specific 
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) any other information necessary for the management 
of the Community legislation involved. 
Article 3 
1. Each CN subheading shall have an eight digit code 
number: 
(a) the first six digits shall be the code numbers relating 
to the headings and subheadings of the Harmonized 
System nomenclature; 
(b) the seventh and eighth digits shall identify the CN 
subheadings. When a heading or subheading of the 
Harmonized System is not further subdivided for 
Community purposes the seventh and eighth digits 
shall be '00'. 
2. The ninth digit shall be reserved for the use of the 
Member States for national statistical subdivisions, to be 
inserted in accordance with Article 5 (3). 
3. The TARIC subheadings shall be identified by the 
10th and 11th digits which, together with the code 
numbers referred to in paragraph 1, form the TARIC 
code numbers. In the absence of a Community 
subdivision the 10th and 11th digits shall be '00'. 
No C 154/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 12.6.87 
4. Exceptionally, an additional TARIC code of four 
digits may be used for the application of specific 
Community measures which are not coded, or not 
entirely coded, at the 10th and 11th digit level. 
Article 4 
1. The Combined Nomenclature, together with the 
rates of duty and other relevant charges, and the tariff 
measures included in the TARIC or in other Community 
arrangements shall constitute the Common Customs 
Tariff referred to in Article 9 of the Treaty, which shall 
be applied on the importation of goods into the 
Community. (d) inform Member States immediately of changes to 
TARIC subheadings and numeric codes. 
Article 7 
1. A Management Committee on Tariff and Statistical 
Nomenclature, called the 'Nomenclature Committee' 
and hereinafter referred to as 'the committee', is hereby 
set up. It shall be composed of representatives of the 
Member States under the chairmanship of a represen­
tative of the Commission. 
2. The committee shall adopt its own rules of 
procedure. 
2. The Combined Nomenclature, including its code 
numbers and, where appropriate, the supplementary 
statistical units relating to it, shall be applied by the 
Community and by the Member States to the statistics 
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 imports and, 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, where necessary, be applied to 
exports and to trade between Member States. 
3. The Member States may insert further subdivisions 
after the CN subheadings for national statistical 
purposes, and after the TARIC subheadings for other 
national purposes. 
Identifying code numbers shall be assigned to such 
subdivisions in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 
2793/86. 
4. Member States which adopt further subdivisions for 
national purposes other than statistics, may, on 
informing the Commission, defer the use of TARIC 
subheadings and the corresponding 10th and 11th digits 
until 31 December 1989 at the latest. 
Article 6 
The Commission shall be responsible for the 
management and publication of the TARIC. It shall, in 
particular, take the steps necessary to: 
(a) integrate the measures listed at Annex II into the 
TARIC; 
(b) attribute TARIC code numbers; 
(c) update the TARIC; Article 8 
The committee may examine any matter referred to it by 
its chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request 
of a representative of a Member State: 
(a) concerning the Combined Nomenclature; 
(b) concerning the TARIC nomenclature and any other 
nomenclature which is 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. 
Article 9 
1. Measures relating to the matters set out below shall 
be adopted in accordance with the procedure defined in 
Article 10: 
(a) application of the Combined Nomenclature and the 
TARIC concerning 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 commercial policy; 
(c) amendments to Annex II; 
(d) amendments to the Combined Nomenclature and 
duties resulting from Decisions taken by the Council; 
(e) amendments to the Combined Nomenclature 
intended to adapt it to take account of technological 
or commercial developments or aimed at 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 Customs Cooperation Council. 
12.6. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 154/9 
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 agri­
cultural policy or within that of specific schemes 
applicable to certain goods resulting from the 
processing of agricultural products, 
— quantitative restrictions laid down under Community 
provisions, 
— nomenclatures adopted within the framework of the 
common agricultural policy. 
3. Amendments to CN subheadings shall be 
immediately included in the TARIC. They shall only be 
included in the CN under the conditions referred to in 
Article 12. 
Article 10 
1. The representative of the Commission shall submit 
to the Committee a draft of the measures to be adopted. 
The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft 
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down 
according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion 
shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 
148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of Decisions which the 
Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the 
Commission. The votes of the representatives of the 
Member States within the committee shall be weighted in 
the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall 
not vote. 
2. The Commission shall adopt the measures, which 
shall apply immediately. However, if those measures are 
not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, 
they shall be communicated by the Commission to the 
Council forthwith. In that event the Commission may 
defer application of the measures which it has decided 
upon for no more than two months from the date of 
such communication. 
3. The Council, acting by qualified majority, may take 
a different decision within two months. 
Article 11 
1. Where Community provisions prescribe conditions 
concerning the eligibility of goods for a favourable tariff 
arrangement upon importation, having regard to their 
nature or end use, those conditions may be fixed 
according to the procedures laid down in Article 10. 
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, 'favourable tariff 
arrangement' means any reduction or suspension, even 
under a tariff quota, of a customs duty or charge having 
equivalent effect or of an agricultural levy or other 
import charge provided for under the common agri­cultural policy or under the specific arrangements 
applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing 
of agricultural products. 
Article 12 
The Commission shall adopt each year by means of a 
Regulation a complete version of the Combined 
Nomenclature together with the corresponding auton­
omous and conventional rates of duty of the Common 
Customs Tariff, as it results from measures adopted by 
the Council or by the Commission. This Regulation shall 
be published not later than 31 October in the Official 
Journal of the European Communities and it shall apply 
from 1 January of the following year. 
Article 13 
Spain and Portugal are hereby authorized not to apply 
the TARIC for the periods during which the transitional 
arrangements pertaining to tariff matters provided for in 
the Act of Accession to the Community apply. 
Article 14 
Where a tariff preference is granted on the basis of rules 
of origin derived from the Nomenclature of the Customs 
Cooperation Council in force on 31 December 1987, 
those rules shall remain applicable in accordance 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 the basis of the former 
nomenclatures of the Common Customs Tariff and the 
NIMEXE. 
Community acts which include the tariff or statistical 
nomenclature shall be amended accordingly by the 
Commission. 
2. References to the NIMEXE in the various 
Community acts in force shall be deemed to refer to the 
Combined Nomenclature. 
Article 16 
Regulations (EEC) No 950/68 and (EEC) No 97/69 are 
hereby repealed. 
Article 17 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
Articles 1 to 5, 12 to 14 and 16 shall not apply until 
1 January 1988. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States.