Chapter notes
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This chapter does not cover:
a. railway or tramway sleepers of wood or of concrete, or concrete guide-track sections for hovertrains (heading 4406 or 6810);
b. railway or tramway track construction material of iron or steel of heading 7302; or
c. electrical signalling, safety or traffic control equipment of heading 8530.
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Heading 8607 applies, inter alia, to:
a. axles, wheels, wheels sets (running gear), metal tyres, hoops and hubs and other parts of wheels;
b. frames, underframes, bogies and bissel-bogies;
c. axle boxes; brake gear;
d. buffers for rolling-stock; hooks and other coupling gear and corridor connections;
e. coachwork.
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Subject to the provisions of note 1 above, heading 8608 applies, inter alia, to:
a. assembled track, turntables, platform buffers, loading gauges;
b. semaphores, mechanical signal discs, level-crossing control gear, signal and point controls, and other mechanical (including electro-mechanical) signalling, safety or traffic control equipment, whether or not fitted for electric lighting, for railways, tramways, roads, inland waterways, parking facilities, port installations or airfields.
Section notes
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This section does not cover articles of heading 9503 or 9508, or bobsleighs, toboggans or the like of heading 9506.
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The expressions ‘parts’ and ‘parts and accessories’ do not apply to the following articles, whether or not they are identifiable as for the goods of this section:
a. joints, washers and the like of any material (classified according to their constituent material or in heading 8484) or other articles of vulcanised rubber other than hard rubber (heading 4016);
b. parts of general use, as defined in Note 2 to Section XV, of base metal (Section XV), or similar goods of plastics (Chapter 39);
c. articles of Chapter 82 (tools);
d. articles of heading 8306;
e. machines or apparatus of heading 8401 to 8479, or parts thereof, other than the radiators for the articles of this Section; articles of heading 8481 or 8482 or, provided they constitute integral parts of engines or motors, articles of heading 8483;
f. electrical machinery or equipment (Chapter 85);
g. articles of Chapter 90;
h. articles of Chapter 91;
ij. arms (Chapter 93);
k. luminaires or lighting fittings and parts thereof of heading 9405;
l. brushes of a kind used as parts of vehicles (heading 9603).
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References in Chapters 86 to 88 to ‘parts’ or ‘accessories’ do not apply to parts or accessories which are not suitable for use solely or principally with the articles of those chapters. A part or accessory which answers to a description in two or more of the headings of those chapters is to be classified under that heading which corresponds to the principal use of that part or accessory.
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For the purposes of this Section:
a. vehicles specially constructed to travel on both road and rail are classified under the appropriate heading of Chapter 87;
b. amphibious motor vehicles are classified under the appropriate heading of Chapter 87;
c. aircraft specially constructed so that they can also be used as road vehicles are classified under the appropriate heading of Chapter 88.
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Air-cushion vehicles are to be classified in this section with the vehicles to which they are most akin as follows:
a. in Chapter 86 if designed to travel on a guide-track (hovertrains);
b. in Chapter 87 if designed to travel over land or over both land and water;
c. in Chapter 89 if designed to travel over water, whether or not able to land on beaches or landing-stages or also able to travel over ice.
Parts and accessories of air-cushion vehicles are to be classified in the same way as those of vehicles of the heading in which the air-cushion vehicles are classified under the above provisions.
Hovertrain track fixtures and fittings are to be classified as railway track fixtures and fittings, and signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for hovertrain transport systems as signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for railways.
Additional section notes
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Subject to the provisions of additional chapter note 3 to Chapter 89, tools and articles necessary for the maintenance or repair of vehicles, aircraft or vessels are to be classified with those vehicles, aircraft or vessels if presented with them. Other accessories presented with vehicles, aircraft or vessels are also to be classified therewith, if they form part of the normal equipment of the vehicles, aircraft or vessels and are normally sold with them.
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The provisions of general rule of interpretation 2(a) are also applicable, at the request of the declarant and subject to conditions stipulated by the Customs authorities, to goods of heading 8608, 8805, 8905 and 8907 imported in split consignments.
General Rules for the Interpretation of goods
Classification of goods in the Tariff shall be governed by the following principles:
Rule 1
The titles of sections, chapters and sub-chapters are provided for ease of reference only. For legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes and, provided such headings or notes do not otherwise require, according to the following provisions.
Rule 2
- Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as presented, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also be taken to include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), presented unassembled or disassembled.
- Any reference in a heading to a material or substance shall be taken to include a reference to mixtures or combinations of that material or substance with other materials or substances. Any reference to goods of a given material or substance shall be taken to include a reference to goods consisting wholly or partly of such material or substance. The classification of goods consisting of more than one material or substance shall be according to the principles of rule 3.
Rule 3
When, by application of rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are prima facie classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:
- the heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods;
- mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable;
- when goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or (b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.
Goods which cannot be classified in accordance with the above rules shall be classified under the heading appropriate to the goods to which they are most akin.
Rule 5
In addition to the foregoing provisions, the following rules shall apply in respect of the goods referred to therein:
- camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, drawing-instrument cases, necklace cases and similar containers, specially shaped or fitted to contain a specific article or set of articles, suitable for long-term use and presented with the articles for which they are intended, shall be classified with such articles when of a kind normally sold therewith. This rule does not, however, apply to containers which give the whole its essential character;
- subject to the provisions of rule 5(a), packing materials and packing containers ( 1 ) presented with the goods therein shall be classified with the goods if they are of a kind normally used for packing such goods. However, this provision is not binding when such packing materials or packing containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use.
Rule 6
For legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. For the purposes of this rule, the relative section and chapter notes also apply, unless the context requires otherwise.