BVBA Van Landeghem v Belgische Staat.
Date: 2007-12-06
23. First, it is settled case-law that, in the interests of legal certainty and ease of verification, the decisive criterion for the classification of goods for customs purposes is in general to be sought in their objective characteristics and properties as defined in the wording of the relevant heading of the CN and in the section or chapter notes (see Case C-15/05 Kawasaki Motors Europe  [2006] ECR I-3657, paragraph 38, and Case C‑310/06 FTS International  [2007] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 27).
24. Second, the intended use of a product may constitute an objective criterion for classification if it is inherent to the product, and that inherent character must be capable of being assessed on the basis of the product’s objective characteristics and properties (see C-400/05 BAS Trucks  [2007] ECR I-311, paragraph 29; Case C‑183/06 RUMA  [2007] ECR I‑1559, paragraph 36; and Case C-142/06 Olicom  [2007] ECR I-0000, paragraph 18).
25. Lastly, according to the Court’s case-law, the Explanatory Notes drawn up, as regards the CN, by the Commission and, as regards the HS, by the WCO are an important aid to the interpretation of the scope of the various headings but do not have legally binding force ( BAS Trucks , paragraph 28). Moreover, although the WCO opinions classifying goods in the HS do not have legally binding force, they amount, as regards the classification of those goods in the CN, to indications which are an important aid to the interpretation of the scope of the various tariff headings of the CN (see Kawasaki Motors Europe , paragraph 36).
27. According to the wording of heading 87.03, that is ‘… motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons’, the principal intended use of those vehicles is decisive for their classification. It follows from the use of term term ‘designed’, as supported by the settled case-law of the Court referred to in paragraph 24 of this judgment, that the principal intended use of the vehicle is decisive, provided that it is inherent to the product. The intended use is determined by the general appearance of the vehicles at issue in the main proceedings and on the basis of the entirety of the characteristics of those vehicles which give them their essential character (see, to that effect, BAS Trucks , paragraph 40).
36. With regard to the Commission’s argument that a pick-up having an area for the transport of goods the inner length of which, at the floor, represents more than 50% of the length of the wheelbase of the vehicle, must be classified under heading 87.04 of the CN, it should be pointed out that the CN Explanatory Notes 2007 contain such a statement. Nevertheless, that characteristic cannot be the decisive one for classification of such a vehicle. Opposing such an interpretation is the fact that the Explanatory Notes to the CN do not take the place of those of the HS but should be regarded as complementary to them, as stated in the foreword to the Explanatory Notes to the CN. In addition, the CN Explanatory Notes 2006 to subheadings 8703 21 10 to 8703 24 90 refer expressly to the HS Explanatory Note to heading 8703 so that, according to those notes, the criterion stated by the Commission cannot be regarded as the sole classification criterion.