Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1405/2013 of 20 December 2013 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature

• CELEX: Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1405/2013
• Articles: 4

Article 1

The goods described in column (1) of the table set out in the Annex shall be classified within the Combined Nomenclature under the CN code indicated in column (2) of that table.

Article 2

Binding tariff information which does not conform to this Regulation may continue to be invoked in accordance with Article 12(6) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 for a period of three months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX

ANNEX

Description of goods

Classification (CN code)

Reasons

(1)

(2)

(3)

A product with the following composition:

—

90,0 to 99,9 % by weight of ethyl alcohol (anti-freeze agent);

—

Additives (denaturation agents):

—

20 mg/litre pure alcohol of denatonium benzoate,

—

5 ml/litre pure alcohol of isopropyl alcohol, and

—

either 5 ml/litre pure alcohol of butyl alcohol or 10 ml/litre pure alcohol of methyl ethyl ketone;

—

1 g/litre pure alcohol of surface active agent.

The addition of denatonium benzoate, isopropyl alcohol, and butyl alcohol or methyl ethyl ketone renders the product unfit for human consumption.

The product is transported in tanks or cisterns. No packaging is available for retail sale.

According to the accompanying documents, the product is a concentrate for the production of anti-freezing fluid.

2207 20 00

Classification is determined by the General Rules 1, 3(b) and 6 for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature and the wording of CN codes 2207 and 2207 20 00 .

Due to its high ethyl alcohol contents, the product is not suitable to be directly used as an anti-freezing fluid, since it needs to be diluted with water in order to minimize the adverse chemical reaction with the elastomers which are in contact with the circulating anti-freezing fluid. The product can therefore not be used as an anti-freezing or de-icing fluid of heading 3820 . Classification under heading 3820 is therefore excluded.

Given its objective characteristics, namely the high proportion of ethyl alcohol and the presence of various denaturing agents (denatonium benzoate, isopropyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, methyl ethyl ketone), as well as the absence of anti-freeze agents other than ethyl alcohol, the essential character of the product is given by the denatured alcohol.

The product is therefore to be classified as denatured ethyl alcohol of CN code 2207 20 00 .