Kawasaki Motors Europe NV v Inspecteur van de Belastingdienst/Douane.
Date: 2016-09-22
39


It follows from the Court’s established case-law that if a classification regulation is not directly applicable to products which are not identical, but only similar to the product covered by that regulation, the latter is applicable by analogy to such products (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgments of 4 March 2004, Krings, C‑130/02, EU:C:2004:122, paragraphs 34 and 35, and 13 July 2006, Anagram International, C‑14/05, EU:C:2006:465, paragraphs 31 to 33). Therefore, where a national court has doubts as to the validity of a classification regulation which it must apply by analogy to goods which are sufficiently similar to those covered by that regulation, it is justified for that court to submit a request for a preliminary ruling to the Court to assess the validity of that regulation (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgment of 19 February 2009, Kamino International Logistics (C‑376/07, EU:C:2009:105, paragraph 69).
52


The value of those Explanatory Notes is recognised by the Court’s case-law as they may be an important aid to the interpretation of the scope of the various tariff headings, even though they do not have legally binding force (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgment of 17 July 2014, Sysmex Europe, C‑480/13, EU:C:2014:2097, paragraph 30 and the case-law cited).
56


According to the Court’s case-law, the intended use of a product may also 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 (judgment of 17 July 2014, Sysmex Europe, C‑480/13, EU:C:2014:2097, paragraph 31 and the case-law cited).
60


In the third place, it is irrelevant that, as mentioned by the Commission, tractors apparently intended for agricultural or forestry purposes may have a recreational use. It should be recalled that if the objective characteristic of a product can be established at the time of customs clearance, the fact that it may also be possible to envisage another use for that product will not preclude its classification for legal purposes. For its classification for customs purposes, that product does not have to be solely or exclusively intended for use corresponding to that objective characteristic. It suffices if that is the main use for which it is intended (judgment of 13 July 2006, Anagram International, C‑14/05, EU:C:2006:465, paragraph 26). In any event, that objection cannot justify the classification of the types of vehicles concerned under subheading 8701 90 90, which, like all the subheadings under CN heading 8701, covers commercial vehicles.
62


It follows from all the foregoing considerations that, by adopting Regulation No 1051/2009, in so far as it classifies the vehicle described in paragraph 2 of its annex under CN subheading 8107 90 90, and not under one of the subheadings 8701 90 11 to 8701 90 39, which correspond to the engine power of that vehicle, the Commission altered, by reducing it, the scope of those subheadings and, therefore, exceeded the powers conferred on it in Article 9(1)(a) of Regulation No 2658/87 (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgment of 4 March 2004, Krings, C‑130/02, EU:C:2004:122, paragraph 26).