CELEX: 51987PC0228
Language: en
Date: 1987-05-22
Title: PROPOSAL FOR COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE TARIFF AND STATISTICAL NOMENCLATURE AND ON THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF

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