CELEX: C1998/166/49
Language: en
Date: 1998-05-30 00:00:00
Title: Removal from the register of Case T-170/97

C 166/20             EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                   30.5.98
decision of 26Ð27 January 1998 (the Decision') to issue            Ð it was given no opportunity to make representations
a regulation (the Regulation) which purports to reclassify              concerning the Regulation before the Nomenclature
for customs duty purposes a product imported by VTech                   Committee; and
from China known as the Smart Start Premier'. The
purported effect of the Regulation is to classify the Smart
                                                                    Ð the Decision effectively overturns the decisions of the
Start Premier for customs duty purposes as a toy' as
                                                                        Tribunal which is the duly constituted court
opposed to a game'.
                                                                        established by the United Kingdom. In so doing, it
The applicant submits in this regard that prior to the                  infringes the principles of legitimate expectations and
Commission's decision in this case it had twice                         legal certainty.
successfully appealed to the Value Added Tax and Duties
Tribunal in the United Kingdom against decisions of HM
Customs and Excise that products sold by the company
should be classified as toys'. Following the outcome of
those proceedings, the Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature
Section (T&SNS) of the Customs Code Committee of the                        Removal from the register of Case T-7/97 (1)
Commission considered the Smart Start Premier, a similar
product marketed by VTech, and announced its intention                                       (98/C 166/48)
to issue the Regulation.
The applicant submits that, in adopting the Decision, the           By order of 25 March 1998 the President of the First
Commission acted in breach of the EC Treaty, in                     Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
particular Articles 28 and 29, and of the Community                 Communities has ordered the removal from the register of
Customs Code, and also in breach of Community law, as               Case T-7/97: Miguel Vicente-NunÄez v Commission of the
regards both substance and procedure.                               European Communities.
It understands that the Commission has referred to the              (1) OJ C 108 of 5.4.1997.
Harmonised System Explanatory Notes (HSEN) as a
justification for the Regulation's classifyng the product as
an educational toy'. It submits that the HSEN do not
have binding force and that they cannot override the
provisions of the Common Customs Tariff (CCT) and its
General Interpretative Rules. Accordingly, inasmuch as the
Commission is purporting to classify a product in breach                  Removal from the register of Case T-170/97 (1)
of the Community Customs Code it is thereby also                                             (98/C 166/49)
purporting to alter autonomously the duties in the CCT
and acting in breach of Article 28 of the EC Treaty which
expressly provides that any such alteration of duties can           By order of 30 March 1998 the President of the Fourth
only be decided by the Council.                                     Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the European
                                                                    Communities has ordered the removal from the register of
From a procedural point of view, the applicant submits
                                                                    Case T-170/97: MichaeÈl Tavernier v European Court of
that:
                                                                    Auditors.
Ð the reasons for the issue of the Regulation have not
    been adequately explained;                                      (1) OJ C 7 of 10.1.1998.