Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff

4.Heading 2530 applies, inter alia, to: vermiculite, perlite and chlorites, unexpanded; earth colours, whether or not calcined or mixed together; natural micaceous iron oxides; meerschaum (whether or not in polished pieces); amber; agglomerated meerschaum and agglomerated amber, in plates, rods, sticks or similar forms, not worked after moulding; jet; strontianite (whether or not calcined), other than strontium oxide; broken pieces of pottery, brick or concrete.

1.This chapter does not cover:

(a) slag or similar industrial waste prepared as macadam (heading 2517 );

(b) natural magnesium carbonate (magnesite), whether or not calcined (heading 2519 );

(c) sludges from the storage tanks of petroleum oils, consisting mainly of such oils (heading 2710 );

(d) basic slag of Chapter 31;

(e) slag wool, rock wool or similar mineral wools (heading 6806 );

(f) waste or scrap of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal; other waste or scrap containing precious metal or precious-metal compounds, of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal (heading 7112 or 8549 ); or

(g) copper, nickel or cobalt mattes produced by any process of smelting (Section XV).

2.For the purposes of headings 2601 to 2617 , the term ‘ores’ means minerals of mineralogical species actually used in the metallurgical industry for the extraction of mercury, of the metals of heading 2844 or of the metals of Section XIV or XV, even if they are intended for non-metallurgical purposes. Headings 2601 to 2617 do not, however, include minerals which have been submitted to processes not normal to the metallurgical industry.

3.Heading 2620 applies only to:

(a) slag, ash and residues of a kind used in industry either for the extraction of metals or as a basis for the manufacture of chemical compounds of metals, excluding ash and residues from the incineration of municipal waste (heading 2621 ); and

(b) slag, ash and residues containing arsenic, whether or not containing metals, of a kind used either for the extraction of arsenic or metals or for the manufacture of their chemical compounds.

1.For the purposes of subheading 2620 21 , ‘leaded gasoline sludges and leaded anti-knock compound sludges’ mean sludges obtained from storage tanks of leaded gasoline and leaded anti-knock compounds (for example, tetraethyl lead), and consisting essentially of lead, lead compounds and iron oxide.

2.Slag, ash and residues containing arsenic, mercury, thallium or their mixtures, of a kind used for the extraction of arsenic or those metals or for the manufacture of their chemical compounds, are to be classified in subheading 2620 60 .

1.This chapter does not cover:

(a) separate chemically defined organic compounds, other than pure methane and propane which are to be classified in heading 2711 ;

(b) medicaments of heading 3003 or 3004 ; or

(c) mixed unsaturated hydrocarbons of heading 3301 , 3302 or 3805 .

2.References in heading 2710 to ‘petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals’ include not only petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals but also similar oils, as well as those consisting mainly of mixed unsaturated hydrocarbons, obtained by any process, provided that the weight of the non-aromatic constituents exceeds that of the aromatic constituents.

However, the references do not include liquid synthetic polyolefins of which less than 60 % by volume distils at 300 °C, after conversion to 1 013  mbar when a reduced-pressure distillation method is used (Chapter 39).

3.For the purposes of heading 2710 , ‘waste oils’ means waste containing mainly petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (as described in note 2 to this chapter), whether or not mixed with water. These include:

(a) such oils no longer fit for use as primary products (for example, used lubricating oils, used hydraulic oils and used transformer oils);

(b) sludge oils from the storage tanks of petroleum oils, mainly containing such oils and a high concentration of additives (for example, chemicals) used in the manufacture of the primary products; and

(c) such oils in the form of emulsions in water or mixtures with water, such as those resulting from oil spills, storage tank washings, or from the use of cutting oils for machining operations.

1.For the purposes of subheading 2701 11 , ‘anthracite’ means coal having a volatile matter limit (on a dry, mineral-matter-free basis) not exceeding 14 %.

2.For the purposes of subheading 2701 12 , ‘bituminous coal’ means coal having a volatile matter limit (on a dry, mineral-matter-free basis) exceeding 14 % and a calorific value limit (on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis) equal to or greater than 5 833  kcal/kg.

3.For the purposes of subheadings 2707 10 , 2707 20 , 2707 30 and 2707 40 , the terms ‘benzol (benzene)’, ‘toluol (toluene)’, ‘xylol (xylenes)’ and ‘naphthalene’ apply to products which contain more than 50 % by weight of benzene, toluene, xylenes or naphthalene, respectively.

4.For the purposes of subheading 2710 12 , ‘light oils and preparations’ are those of which 90 % or more by volume (including losses) distil at 210 °C according to the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method).

5.For the purposes of the subheadings of heading 2710 , the term ‘biodiesel’ means mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids of a kind used as a fuel, derived from animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils whether or not used.

1.

For the purposes of subheading 2707 99 80 , the term ‘phenols’ applies to products which contain more than 50 % by weight of phenols.

2.

For the purposes of heading 2710 :

(a) ‘special spirits’ (subheadings 2710 12 21 and 2710 12 25 ) mean light oils as defined in subheading note 4 to this chapter, not containing any anti-knock preparations, and with a difference of not more than 60 °C between the temperatures at which 5 % and 90 % by volume (including losses) distil; (b) ‘white spirit’ (subheading 2710 12 21 ) means special spirits as defined in paragraph (a) above with a flash-point higher than 21 °C by the EN ISO 13736 method; (c) ‘medium oils’ (subheadings 2710 19 11 to 2710 19 29 ) mean oils and preparations of which less than 90 % by volume (including losses) distils at 210 °C and 65 % or more by volume (including losses) distils at 250 °C by the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method); (d) ‘heavy oils’ (subheadings 2710 19 31 to 2710 19 99 and 2710 20 11 to 2710 20 90 ) mean oils and preparations of which less than 65 % by volume (including losses) distils at 250 °C by the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method) or of which the distillation percentage at 250 °C cannot be determined by that method; (e) ‘gas oils’ (subheadings 2710 19 31 to 2710 19 48 and 2710 20 11 to 2710 20 19 ) mean heavy oils as defined in paragraph (d) above of which 85 % or more by volume (including losses) distils at 350 °C by the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method); (f) ‘fuel oils’ (subheadings 2710 19 51 to 2710 19 67 and 2710 20 32 to 2710 20 38 ) mean heavy oils as defined in paragraph (d) above (other than gas oils as defined in paragraph (e)) which, for a corresponding diluted colour C, have a viscosity V: — not exceeding that shown in line I of the following table when the sulphated ashes content is less than 1 % by the ISO 3987 method and the saponification number is less than 4 by the ISO 6293-1 or 6293-2 method (except where the product contains one or more bio-components, in which case the requirement in this indent for the saponification number to be less than 4 does not apply), — exceeding that shown in line II when the pour point is not less than 10 °C by the ISO 3016 method, — *exceeding that shown in line I but not exceeding that shown in line II when 25 % or more by volume distils at 300 °C by the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method) or, if less than 25 % by volume distils at 300 °C, when the pour point is higher than 10 °C below zero by the ISO 3016 method. These provisions apply only to oils having a diluted colour C of less than 2. Diluted colour C/Viscosity V concordance table Colour C*

0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 4,5 5 5,5 6 6,5 7 7,5 and above Viscosity V I 4 4 4 5,4 9 15,1 25,3 42,4 71,1 119 200 335 562 943 1 580 2 650 II 7 7 7 7 9 15,1 25,3 42,4 71,1 119 200 335 562 943 1 580 2 650 The term ‘viscosity V’ means the kinematic viscosity at 50 °C expressed in 10^–6 m² s^–1 by the EN ISO 3104 method. The term ‘diluted colour C’ means the colour of a product, as determined by the ISO 2049 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 1 500 method), after one part of the product has been made up to 100 parts by volume with xylene, toluene or another suitable solvent. The colour must be determined immediately after dilution. The term ‘bio-components’ means animal or vegetable fats, animal or vegetable oils, or mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids (FAMAE). Subheadings 2710 19 51 to 2710 19 67 and 2710 20 32 to 2710 20 38 cover only fuel oils of natural colour. These subheadings do not cover heavy oils defined in paragraph (d) above for which it is not possible to determine: — the distillation percentage (zero shall be deemed to be a percentage) at 250 °C by the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method), — the kinematic viscosity at 50 °C by the EN ISO 3104 method, — or the diluted colour C by the ISO 2049 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 1500 method). Such products fall in subheadings 2710 19 71 to 2710 19 99 or 2710 20 90 ; (g) ‘containing biodiesel’ means that the products of subheading 2710 20 have a minimum content of biodiesel, i.e. mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids (FAMAE) of a kind used as a fuel, of 0,5 % by volume (determination by the EN 14078 method).**

3.

For the purposes of heading 2712 , the expression ‘crude petroleum jelly’ (subheading 2712 10 10 ) is to be taken to apply to petroleum jelly of a natural colour higher than 4,5 by the ISO 2049 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 1500 method).

4.

For the purposes of subheadings 2712 90 31 to 2712 90 39 , the term ‘crude’ is to be taken to apply to products:

(a) with an oil content of 3,5 % by weight or higher, if their viscosity at 100 °C is lower than 9 × 10^–6 m² s^–1 by the EN ISO 3104 method; or (b) of a natural colour higher than 3 by the ISO 2049 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 1500 method), if their viscosity at 100 °C is 9 × 10^–6 m² s^–1 or higher by the EN ISO 3104 method.

5.

For the purposes of headings 2710 , 2711 and 2712 , the term ‘specific process’ is to be taken to apply to the following operations:

(a) vacuum distillation; (b) redistillation by a very thorough fractionation process; (c) cracking; (d) reforming; (e) extraction by means of selective solvents; (f) the process comprising all the following operations: processing with concentrated sulphuric acid, oleum or sulphuric anhydride; neutralisation with alkaline agents; decolorisation and purification with naturally active earth, activated earth, activated charcoal or bauxite; (g) polymerisation; (h) alkylation; (ij) isomerisation; (k) (in respect of products of subheadings 2710 19 31 to 2710 19 99 only) desulphurisation with hydrogen resulting in a reduction of at least 85 % of the sulphur content of the products processed (EN ISO 20846, EN ISO 20884 or EN ISO 14596 or EN ISO 24260, EN ISO 20847 and EN ISO 8754 methods); (l) (in respect of products of heading 2710 only) deparaffining by a process other than filtering; (m) (in respect of products of subheadings 2710 19 31 to 2710 19 99 only) treatment with hydrogen at a pressure of more than 20 bar and a temperature of more than 250 °C with the use of a catalyst, other than to effect desulphurisation, when the hydrogen constitutes an active element in a chemical reaction. The further treatment with hydrogen of lubricating oils of subheadings 2710 19 71 to 2710 19 99 (for example, hydrofinishing or decolorisation) in order, more especially, to improve colour or stability shall not, however, be deemed to be a specific process; (n) (in respect of products of subheadings 2710 19 51 to 2710 19 67 only) atmospheric distillation, on condition that less than 30 % of these products distils, by volume, including losses, at 300 °C by the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method). If 30 % or more by volume, including losses, of such products distils at 300 °C by the ISO 3405 method (equivalent to the ASTM D 86 method), the quantities of products which may be obtained during the atmospheric distillation and which fall in subheadings 2710 12 11 to 2710 12 90 or 2710 19 11 to 2710 19 29 shall be dutiable at the same rates as those provided for under subheadings 2710 19 62 to 2710 19 67 according to the kind and value of the products used and on the net weight of the products obtained. This rule shall not apply to products so obtained which, within a period of six months and subject to such other conditions as may be determined by the competent authorities, are to undergo a specific process or chemical transformation by a process not being a specific process; (o) (in respect of products of subheadings 2710 19 71 to 2710 19 99 only) treatment by means of a high-frequency electrical brush-discharge; (p) solely for products of subheading 2712 90 31 : de-oiling by fractional crystallisation.

Should any preparatory treatment prior to the above treatments be necessary by reason of technical requirements, the customs exemption is to apply only to the quantities of the products intended for and actually subjected to such of the above treatments; any waste products arising during preparatory treatment are also to be exempt from customs duty.

6.

The quantities of products which may be obtained during chemical transformation, or during preparatory treatment which may be necessary by reason of technical requirements, and which fall in headings or subheadings 2707 10 00 , 2707 20 00 , 2707 30 00 , 2707 50 00 , 2710 , 2711 , 2712 10 , 2712 20 , 2712 90 31 to 2712 90 99 and 2713 90 are to be dutiable at the same rates as those provided for in respect of products ‘for other purposes’, according to the kind and value of the products used and on the net weight of the products obtained. This rule is not to apply to such products of headings 2710 to 2712 which, within a period of six months and subject to such other conditions as may be determined by the competent authorities, are to undergo a specific process or further chemical transformation.

SECTION VI

PRODUCTS OF THE CHEMICAL OR ALLIED INDUSTRIES

Notes

(B) Subject to paragraph (A) above, goods answering to a description in heading 2843 , 2846 or 2852 are to be classified in those headings and in no other heading of this section.

2.Subject to note 1 above, goods classifiable in heading 3004 , 3005 , 3006 , 3212 , 3303 , 3304 , 3305 , 3306 , 3307 , 3506 , 3707 or 3808 by reason of being put up in measured doses or for retail sale are to be classified in those headings and in no other heading of the nomenclature.

3.Goods put up in sets consisting of two or more separate constituents, some or all of which fall in this section and are intended to be mixed together to obtain a product of Section VI or VII, are to be classified in the heading appropriate to that product, provided that the constituents are:

(a) having regard to the manner in which they are put up, clearly identifiable as being intended to be used together without first being repacked;

(b) presented together; and

(c) identifiable, whether by their nature or by the relative proportions in which they are present, as being complementary one to another.

4.Where a product answers to a description in one or more of the headings in Section VI by virtue of being described by name or function and also to heading 3827 , then it is classifiable in a heading that references the product by name or function and not under heading 3827 .

1.Except where the context otherwise requires, the headings of this chapter apply only to:

(a) separate chemical elements and separate chemically defined compounds, whether or not containing impurities;

(b) the products mentioned in (a) above dissolved in water;

(c) the products mentioned in (a) above dissolved in other solvents provided that the solution constitutes a normal and necessary method of putting up these products adopted solely for reasons of safety or for transport and that the solvent does not render the product particularly suitable for specific use rather than for general use;

(d) the products mentioned in (a), (b) or (c) above with an added stabiliser (including an anti-caking agent) necessary for their preservation or transport;

(e) the products mentioned in (a), (b), (c) or (d) above with an added anti-dusting agent or a colouring substance added to facilitate their identification or for safety reasons, provided that the additions do not render the product particularly suitable for specific use rather than for general use.

2.In addition to dithionites and sulphoxylates, stabilised with organic substances (heading 2831 ), carbonates and peroxocarbonates of inorganic bases (heading 2836 ), cyanides, cyanide oxides and complex cyanides of inorganic bases (heading 2837 ), fulminates, cyanates and thiocyanates, of inorganic bases (heading 2842 ), organic products included in headings 2843 to 2846 and 2852 and carbides (heading 2849 ), only the following compounds of carbon are to be classified in this chapter:

(a) oxides of carbon, hydrogen cyanide and fulminic, isocyanic, thiocyanic and other simple or complex cyanogen acids (heading 2811 );

(b) halide oxides of carbon (heading 2812 );

(c) carbon disulphide (heading 2813 );

(d) thiocarbonates, selenocarbonates, tellurocarbonates, selenocyanates, tellurocyanates, tetrathiocyanatodiamminochromates (reineckates) and other complex cyanates, of inorganic bases (heading 2842 );

(e) hydrogen peroxide, solidified with urea (heading 2847 ), carbon oxysulphide, thiocarbonyl halides, cyanogen, cyanogen halides and cyanamide and its metal derivatives (heading 2853 ) other than calcium cyanamide, whether or not pure (Chapter 31).

3.Subject to the provisions of note 1 to Section VI, this chapter does not cover:

(a) sodium chloride or magnesium oxide, whether or not pure, or other products of Section V;

(b) organo-inorganic compounds other than those mentioned in note 2 above;

(c) products mentioned in note 2, 3, 4 or 5 to Chapter 31;

(d) inorganic products of a kind used as luminophores, of heading 3206 ; glass frit and other glass in the form of powder, granules or flakes, of heading 3207 ;

(e) artificial graphite (heading 3801 ); products put up as charges for fire-extinguishers or put up in fire-extinguishing grenades, of heading 3813 ; ink removers put up in packings for retail sale, of heading 3824 ; cultured crystals (other than optical elements) weighing not less than 2,5 g each, of the halides of the alkali or alkaline-earth metals, of heading 3824 ;

(f) precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed) or dust or powder of such stones (headings 7102 to 7105 ), or precious metals or precious-metal alloys of Chapter 71;

(g) the metals, whether or not pure, metal alloys or cermets, including sintered metal carbides (metal carbides sintered with a metal), of Section XV; or

(h) optical elements, for example, of the halides of the alkali or alkaline-earth metals (heading 9001 ).

4.Chemically defined complex acids consisting of a non-metal acid of sub-chapter II and a metal acid of sub-chapter IV are to be classified in heading 2811 .

5.Headings 2826 to 2842 apply only to metal or ammonium salts or peroxysalts.

Except where the context otherwise requires, double or complex salts are to be classified in heading 2842 .

6.Heading 2844 applies only to:

(a) technetium (atomic No 43), promethium (atomic No 61), polonium (atomic No 84) and all elements with an atomic number greater than 84;

(b) natural or artificial radioactive isotopes (including those of the precious metals or of the base metals of Sections XIV and XV), whether or not mixed together;

(c) compounds, inorganic or organic, of these elements or isotopes, whether or not chemically defined, whether or not mixed together;

(d) alloys, dispersions (including cermets), ceramic products and mixtures containing these elements or isotopes or inorganic or organic compounds thereof and having a specific radioactivity exceeding 74 Bq/g (0,002 μCi/g);

(e) spent (irradiated) fuel elements (cartridges) of nuclear reactors;

(f) radioactive residues whether or not usable.

The term ‘isotopes’, for the purposes of this note and of the wording of headings 2844 and 2845 , refers to:

— individual nuclides, excluding, however, those existing in nature in the monoisotopic state,

— mixtures of isotopes of one and the same element, enriched in one or several of the said isotopes, that is, elements of which the natural isotopic composition has been artificially modified.

7.Heading 2853 includes copper phosphide (phosphor copper) containing more than 15 % by weight of phosphorus.

8.Chemical elements (for example, silicon and selenium) doped for use in electronics are to be classified in this chapter, provided that they are in forms unworked as drawn, or in the form of cylinders or rods. When cut in the form of discs, wafers or similar forms, they fall in heading 3818 .

1.For the purposes of subheading 2852 10 , the expression ‘chemically defined’ means all organic or inorganic compounds of mercury meeting the requirements of paragraphs (a) to (e) of note 1 to Chapter 28 or paragraphs (a) to (h) of note 1 to Chapter 29.

1.

Unless provided otherwise, the salts specified in subheadings include acid salts and basic salts.