Tariff classification : the EU is getting a new tool

The US has CROSS, the EU now has CLASS. On 15 May 2020, the European Commission launched its new platform for finding information on the tariff classification of goods.

What is CLASS?

CLASS (Classification Information System) is a platform for information on the tariff classification of any product.

How does CLASS work?

CLASS includes all decisions and legal texts relating to the tariff classification of goods entering or leaving the European Union and which must be classified according to the EU’s Combined Nomenclature, itself based on the Harmonised System Nomenclature.

What can I find on CLASS?

The CLASS platform has a global ambition and aims to enable a single point of search for all relevant European information on the customs classification of goods. CLASS makes available :

  • Dedicated opinions of the Customs Code Committee;
  • Regulations for the classification of goods;
  • ECJ rulings on the classification of goods;
  • the Combined Nomenclature (CN) and its Explanatory Notes (ENC); and
  • TARIC codes.

Our commentary :

This database differs from the BTI (Binding Tariff Information) database, which it usefully complements, as well as with the Eurostat database on international trade statistics by CN code.

This simple and free tool allows a first approach to common classification issues.

Let us hope that the Commission will continue to build on this momentum and construct a similar tool in terms of value and origin.

***