PART VII : PLASTIC AND ARTICLES OF PLASTIC; RUBBER AND ARTICLES OF RUBBER

PART VII : PLASTIC AND ARTICLES OF PLASTIC; RUBBER AND ARTICLES OF RUBBER

Notes

1. 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 satisfy:

(a) their packaging clearly shows that they are intended to be used together without repackaging;

(b) presented together; and

(c) are identifiable as being complementary, either by their nature or by their relative proportions in the product.

2. Except for the goods of heading 39.18 or 39.19, plastics, rubber and articles thereof, printed with designs, characters or pictorial representations, which are not merely incidental to the main use of the goods, are to be classified in Chapter 49.

Chapter 39: Plastics and articles thereof

Notes

1. Throughout the Nomenclature the term “plastic” means materials of headings 39.01 to 39.14 which are capable of being shaped by external influence (usually heat and pressure, and, if necessary, by the addition of solvents or plasticizers) at the time of polymerization or at subsequent stages by casting, moulding, extrusion, rolling or other shaping processes and which retain their shape when the external influence is removed.

Throughout the Nomenclature, any reference to “plastics” includes vulcanised fibres. However, this term does not apply to materials considered as textiles in Section XI.

2. This chapter does not cover:

(a) Lubricating preparations of heading 27.10 or 34.03;

(b) Waxes of heading 27.12 or 34.04;

(c) Separate chemically defined organic compounds (Chapter 29);

(d) Heparin or its salts (heading 30.01);

(e) Solutions (other than colloidal solutions) consisting of any of the products described in headings 39.01 to 39.13 in volatile organic solvents when the weight of the solvent exceeds 50% by weight of the solution (heading 32.08); stamping foils of heading 32.12;

(f) Organic surface-active substances or preparations of heading 34.02;

(g) Fluted gums or gum esters (heading 38.06);

(h) Prepared additives for mineral oils (including gasoline) or for other liquids used for the same purposes as mineral oils (heading 38.11);

(ij) Prepared hydraulic fluids based on polyglycols, silicones or other polymers of Chapter 39 (heading 38.19);

(k) Diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing of plastics (heading 38.22);

(l) Synthetic rubber, as defined in Chapter 40, or articles thereof;

(m) Saddlery or harness (heading 42.01) or trunks, suitcases, handbags or other containers of heading 42.02;

(n) Plaits, wickerwork or other articles of Chapter 46;

(o) Wall coverings of heading 48.14;

(p) Articles of Section XI (textiles and textile articles);

(q) Articles of Section XII (for example, footwear, headgear, umbrellas, sun umbrellas, walking sticks, whips, riding crops or parts thereof);

(r) Articles of jewellery of heading 71.17;

(s) Articles of Section XVI (machinery and mechanical or electrical appliances);

(t) Parts of aircraft or vehicles of Section XVII;

(u) Articles of Chapter 90 (for example, optical elements, spectacle frames, drawing instruments);

(v) Articles of Chapter 91 (for example, clock or watch cases);

(w) Articles of Chapter 92 (for example, musical instruments or parts thereof);

(x) Articles of Chapter 94 (for example, furniture, lamps and lighting fittings, illuminated signs, prefabricated buildings);

(y) Articles of Chapter 95 (for example, toys, games, requisites, sports equipment); or

(z) Articles of Chapter 96 (for example, brushes, buttons, zip-fasteners, combs, pipes, cigarette holders or the like, parts of vacuum flasks or the like, pens, moving pencils, monopods, bipods, tripods and similar articles).

3. Headings 39.01 to 39.11 apply only to goods of a kind produced by chemical synthesis, of the following kinds:

(a) Liquid synthetic polyolefins of which less than 60% by volume distils, obtained by reduced pressure distillation at 300 ^° C at a pressure of 1,013 millibars (headings 39.01 and 39.02);

(b) Resins, not highly polymerized, of the comarone-indene type (heading 39.11);

(c) Other synthetic polymers having on average at least 5 monomer units in the chain;

(d) Silicones (heading 39.10);

(e) Resols (heading 39.09) and other prepolymers.

4. The term “copolymer” refers to all polymers in which no single monomer constitutes 95% or more by weight of the total polymer content.

For the purposes of this Chapter, except where the context otherwise requires, copolymers (including condensation copolymers, copolymer addition products, block copolymers and graft copolymers) and polymer blends are to be classified in the headings of polymers of which comonomer unit predominates by weight over every other single comonomer unit. For the purposes of this Note, constituent comonomer units of polymers of the same heading are to be taken together.

If no single comonomer type predominates by weight, copolymers or polymer blends, as the case may be, are to be classified in the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those equally considered.

5. Chemically modified polymers, that is, polymers in which only the additions to the main polymer chain have been modified by chemical reaction, are classified together with unmodified polymers. This provision does not apply to graft copolymers.

6. In headings 39.01 to 39.14, the term “primary forms” applies only to the following forms:

(a) Liquids and pastes, including dispersions (emulsions and suspensions) and solutions;

(b) Blocks of irregular shape, lumps, powders (including moulding powders), granules, flakes and similar bulk forms.

7. Heading 39.15 does not apply to waste, parings and scrap of a single thermoplastic material transformed into primary forms (headings 39.01 to 39.14).

8. For the purposes of heading 39.17, the term “tubes, pipes and hoses” means hollow products, whether semi-manufactured or finished, of a kind generally used for conveying, conducting or distributing gases or liquids (for example, ribbed garden hose, perforated pipes). The term also includes sausage casings and other lay-flat tubing. However, except as provided for in the last paragraph, products the internal cross-section of which is not circular, oval, rectangular (the length does not exceed 1.5 times the width) or in the shape of a regular polygon are not to be regarded as tubes, pipes or hoses, but as profile shapes.

9. For the purposes of heading 39.18, the expression “wall or ceiling coverings of plastics” applies to products in rolls, of a width of 45 cm or more, suitable for wall or ceiling decoration, consisting of plastics fixed permanently on a backing of any material other than paper, the plastic layer (on the surface) being grained, embossed, coloured, design-printed or otherwise decorated.

10. In headings 39.20 and 39.21, the expression “plates, sheets, film, foil and strip” applies only to plates, sheets, film, foil and strip (other than those of Chapter 54) and to blocks of regular geometric shape, whether or not printed or otherwise surface-worked, uncut or cut to rectangular (including square) shape but not further worked (even if when so cut they become articles ready for use).

11. Heading 39.25 applies only to the following products, which do not fall within the preceding headings of sub-Chapter II:

(a) Tanks, vats (including septic tanks), jars and similar containers, of a capacity exceeding 300 litres;

(b) Building components, for example, floors, walls or partitions, ceilings or roofs;

(c) Gutters and their accessories;

(d) Doors, windows and their frames and thresholds for doors;

(e) Balconies, railings, fences, gates and similar barriers;

(f) Shutters, blinds (including Venetian blinds) and similar articles and parts and accessories thereof;

(g) Large-sized shelves and racks for permanent assembly and installation, for example, in shops, factories, warehouses;

(h) Decorative architectural features, for example, cornices, arches, dovecotes; and

(ij) Fittings and mountings for permanent installation in or on doors, windows, staircases, walls or other parts of buildings, for example, handles, knobs, hinges, brackets, handrails, towel rails, switch guards and other protective plates.

Subheading Notes

1. Within any one heading of this Chapter, polymers (including copolymers) and chemically modified polymers are to be classified according to the following rules:

(a) Where there is a subheading “Other” within the subheadings at the same level:

(1) The designation of a polymer in a subheading with the prefix “poly” (for example, polyethylene and polyamide-6,6) means that the constituent monomer unit or monomer units of the named polymer must account for 95% or more by weight of the total polymer content.

(2) The copolymers named in subheadings 3901.30, 3901.40, 3903.20, 3903.30 and 3904.30 are to be classified in those subheadings, provided that the comonomer units of the named copolymer contribute 95% or more by weight of the total polymer content.

(3) Chemically modified polymers are to be classified in the subheading “Other”, provided that the chemically modified polymers are not more specifically covered by another subheading.

(4) Polymers which do not satisfy conditions (1), (2) or (3) above shall be classified in the subheading, among the remaining subheadings of the group, which covers polymers of the monomer unit which predominates by weight over all other single comonomer units. Consequently, the constituent monomer units of polymers belonging to the same subheading shall be taken together. Only the constituent comonomer units of polymers in subheadings of the same level/within the level of the subheading under consideration shall be compared.

(b) Where there is no subheading “Other” in the subheadings at the same level:

(1) Polymers are classified in subheadings covering polymers of the monomer unit which predominates by weight over all other single comonomer units. Therefore, the monomer units constituting polymers belonging to the same subheading shall be considered together. Only the comonomer units constituting polymers in the groups under consideration shall be compared.

(2) Chemically modified polymers are classified in the subheading appropriate to the unmodified polymer.

Polymer blends are classified in the same subheading as polymers of the same monomer units in the same proportions.

2. For the purposes of subheading 3920.43, the term “plasticizers” includes secondary plasticizers.