Commission Regulation (EC) No 198/2009 of 10 March 2009 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature
Date: 2009-03-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Combined Nomenclature, algae, common customs tariff, floor coverings, natural fibre, textile product

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Official Journal of the European Union

14.3.2009

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 198/2009

of 10 March 2009

concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(4)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of
23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and
on the Common Customs Tariff (1),
and in particular
Article 9(1)(a) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

In order to ensure uniform application of the Combined
Nomenclature annexed to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87,
it is necessary to adopt measures concerning the classi­
fication of the goods referred to in the Annex to this
Regulation.

Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 has laid down the general
rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomen­
clature. Those rules apply also to any other nomenclature
which is wholly or partly based on it or which adds any
additional subdivision to it and which is established by
specific Community provisions, with a view to the appli­
cation of tariff and other measures relating to trade in
goods.

Pursuant to those general rules, the goods described in
column 1 of the table set out in the Annex should be
classified under the CN code indicated in column 2, by
virtue of the reasons set out in column 3 of that table.

is appropriate to provide that binding tariff

It
infor­
mation which has been issued by the customs authorities
of Member States in respect of the classification of goods
in
in the Combined Nomenclature but which is not
accordance with this Regulation can,
for a period of
three months, continue to be invoked by the holder,
under Article 12(6) of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the
Community Customs Code (2).

(5)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Customs Code
Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The goods described in column 1 of the table set out in the
Annex shall be classified within the Combined Nomenclature
under the CN code indicated in column 2 of that table.

Article 2

Binding tariff information issued by the customs authorities of
Member States, which is not in accordance with this Regulation,
can continue to be invoked for a period of three months under
Article 12(6) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92.

Article3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
the European
that of
Union.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 10 March 2009.

For the Commission

László KOVÁCS
Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.

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Description of the goods

(1)

Article measuring approximately 4 m × 30 m,
made up of woven strands of plant material
(sea-grass).

The weft consists of two intertwined twisted
strands of plant material (sea-grass) of a kind
used primarily for stuffing cushions.

The warp consists of one single twisted strand
of spun natural textile fibres of plant material
(sea-grass fibres)
(the strand measures more
than 20 000 decitex).

The article has a cellular rubber backing.

(sea-grass floor covering)

(See photographs Nos 648A and 648B. The
photographs show a section cut out of
the
article) (*)

ANNEX

Classification
(CN code)

(2)

4601 94 10

Reasons

(3)

Classification is determined by General Rules 1, 3(b)
and 6 for the interpretation of the Combined Nomen­
clature, note 1 to Chapter 46, note 1 to Chapter 57,
note 3(A)(e) to Section XI and the wording of CN
codes 4601, 4601 94 and 4601 94 10.

The article consists of three different materials:

(1) The two intertwined twisted strands of plant
material
(weft) are made of vegetable materials
of heading 1404 of a kind used primarily for
stuffing cushions (see the Harmonised System
Explanatory notes (HSEN) to heading 1404, (D),
first paragraph and third paragraph,
(4) which
refers to ‘eel-grass’ that is a sort of sea-grass).

cord made

from non-crushed

they are products

The vegetable materials are processed into a kind
vegetable
of
materials assembled simply by twisting, and, as
such,
to plaits of
heading 4601 (see the HSEN to heading 4601,
(A)(2)(b)) and ‘in a state suitable for plaiting’
which makes them ‘plaiting materials’ within the
meaning of note 1 to Chapter 46.

similar

(2) The single twisted strand of spun natural textile
fibres of plant material (warp) are made of fibres
obtained from vegetable materials. The fibres are
held together by twisting (spinning) (see the HSEN
to Section XI, General, (I)(B)(1)(i)(a)). These ‘spun
yarns’ are to be treated as ‘twine’ of heading 5607
within the meaning of note 3(A)(e) to Section XI,
because the single twisted strand measures more
than 20 000 decitex (see also the distinction
(type – of
between yarns and twine in table I
other vegetable fibres)
in the HSEN to Section
XI, General,
(I)(B)(2) and the HSEN to heading
5308 (A), second paragraph, and the HSEN to
heading 5607 (1), first paragraph).

(3) The cellular rubber backing of Chapter 40 does
not give the article its essential character within
the meaning of GIR 3(b), because it is situated
underneath and not visible when the article lies
on the ground. It functions as backing, rendering
the article stiffer, and confers anti-slip properties
to the article.

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(1)

(2)

(3)

The article is to be classified as a product of
plaiting material similar to plaits, because the
intertwined twisted strands of plant material
(weft) — that are plaiting materials of heading
4601 — give the article its essential character
within the meaning of GIR 3(b). The intertwined
twisted strands are much more in quantity than
the single textile strands (warp) and they give the
product its particular look.

Consequently, the article cannot be classified as a
textile floor covering of Chapter 57 within the
meaning of note 1 to Chapter 57, because the
the article is not of
exposed surface area of
textile material but mainly of products similar to
plaits of heading 4601.

(*) The photographs are purely for information.

648 A

648 B