Supreme Court Ruling on Classification of Non-Toxic Insecticides Under Tariff Heading 3808 GN

• The appeal challenges the Court’s classification of a product under tariff heading 3808 of the Combined Nomenclature (GN), arguing that only chemical insecticides with toxic substances should be included.
• The appellant claims that the authentic English and French versions of heading 38.08 refer specifically to insecticides, commonly understood as chemical agents that kill insects, and that the absence of toxic substances should preclude classification under this heading.
• The Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) finds that the term “insecticide” is not further defined in the Harmonized System (HS) and that international interpretation, not just Dutch usage, is decisive.
• The Court agrees with the lower court that the explanatory notes support a broader interpretation, allowing classification of products as insecticidal even if their active ingredient is not toxic.
• The Court rejects the argument that only products with toxic active substances fall under heading 3808, affirming that the classification is not limited in this way.

Source: uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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