Important legal notice

61987C0253

European Court reports 1988 Page 03351

Opinion of the Advocate-General

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

by the Bundesfinanzhof (Federal Finance Court), on which only the Commission has submitted

observations to the Court. The divergent view taken by the plaintiff in the main proceedings is

apparent from the order making the reference.

are persuasive. I therefore think that the Chamber should follow them.

we are dealing with partially-condensed (hardenable) epoxy resin sheeting in which a layer of

carbon fibre filaments (42% by weight) and a layer of glass-fibre (22% by weight) are fully

embedded.

to be in accordance with the Explanatory Notes to the Customs Cooperation Council

Nomenclature and with a tariff classification decision adopted in 1972 with regard to a wholly

similar product. These are factors which, in accordance with settled case-law, constitute important

means of interpretation of the Common Customs Tariff (see, most recently, the judgment in Case

42/86 ).

Customs Tariff (issued by the Federal German Finance Ministry), epoxy resins rank among the

products mentioned under tariff heading 39.01.

6. It should also be remembered that, under Rule A 2 (b) of the general rules of the Common

Customs Tariff, any mention of goods under a specific heading thereof refers to those goods,

either in their pure state or mixed or associated with other goods. Moreover, it appears from the

Explanatory Notes to the Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature that it is appropriate to

classify amongst the materials which are expressly mentioned in Note 3 (d) to Chapter 39 of the

Common Customs Tariff, also feuilles ... contenant au sein de la matiŠre plastique constitutive un

r‚seau de renforcement en autres matiŠres (fils m‚talliques, fils textiles, fibres de verre etc.).

September 1982, epoxy resin sheets with a glass fibre mesh embedded in the plastic for

reinforcement (about 60% by weight) are to be classified under tariff subheading 39.01 C VII.

This was considered right because such a product, in spite of the high fibre content, which only

served the purpose of reinforcement, retains the characteristics of a plastic material.

characteristics (the fibre content at 64% by weight is not significantly higher than that of the

goods which were the subject of the aforementioned tariff classification decision) and because it

must be acknowledged that the fibres do not determine the character of the goods (in fact, tubes

and bars can be manufactured from epoxy resin sheeting alone) it seems appropriate to classify

them under tariff heading 39.01, that is to say, following its itemization by Council Regulation No

750/87, tariff subheading 39.01 C VII a) 2.

of tariff heading 39.01 of the Common Customs Tariff that heading also covers semi-finished

products in sheet form intended for the manufacture of tubing, which are composed of epoxy resin

(36% by weight) carbon fibres (42% by weight) and glass fibre (22% by weight), if the two

last-mentioned components are completely embedded in the epoxy resin mass.