(1)

By means of Council Decision 87/369/EEC (1) the Union approved the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (2), and the Protocol of Amendment thereto (3) (HS Convention), which, inter alia, established the Harmonized System Committee (HSC).

(2)

Pursuant to Article 7(1), points (b) and (c), of the HS Convention, the HSC is responsible for preparing Explanatory Notes, Classification Opinions, other advice as guides for the interpretation of the Harmonized System and for preparing recommendations to secure uniformity in the interpretation and application of the Harmonized System.

(3)

Pursuant to Article 8(3) of the HS Convention, Explanatory Notes, Classification Opinions, other advice on the interpretation of the Harmonized System and recommendations to secure uniformity in the interpretation and application of the Harmonized System prepared during a session of the HSC (‘HSC decisions’) are to be deemed as having been approved by the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council if, as of the end of the second month following the month during which the session at which they were adopted was closed, no Contracting Party to the HS Convention notified the WCO Secretary-General that it entered a request for re-examination by the HSC or referral to the WCO Council.

(4)

Pursuant to Article 8(4) of the HS Convention, once a matter has been referred to the WCO Council under the provisions of paragraph 2 of that Article, the WCO Council shall approve such Explanatory Notes, Classification Opinions, other advice or recommendations, unless any WCO Council Member which is a Contracting Party to the HS Convention requests that they be referred in whole or in part to the HSC for re-examination.

(5)

It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the WCO with regard to the adoption of Explanatory Notes, Classification Opinions or other advice on the interpretation of the Harmonized System and recommendations to secure uniformity in the interpretation of the HS Convention, as the decisions at issue prepared by the HSC will be capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law, namely, Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (4).

(6)

It is in the interest of the Union that the positions expressed by the Union in the HSC are established according to principles, criteria and orientations governing the tariff classification of goods. It is also in the interest of the Union that such positions be established in an expeditious manner to allow the Union to exercise its rights in the HSC.

(7)

To preserve the Union’s rights, the Commission should also be able to request on behalf of the Union that a matter be referred to the WCO Council or to the HSC for re-examination pursuant to Article 8(2) of the HS Convention, in order to avoid that a decision is adopted on a matter on which the WCO Council is either unable to reach a position before the expiry of the deadline provided for in Article 8(3) of the HS Convention, or has reached a position which differs in substance from the decision that was adopted by the HSC.

(8)

In view of the evolving and highly technical nature of the classification of goods under the HS Convention, the high volume of questions dealt with in the two HSC meetings per year, and the short timeframe available to consider documents issued by the WCO Secretariat and Contracting Parties in preparation of the HSC meetings and the consequent need for the position of the Union to take into account and to effectively act upon the new information presented before or during such meetings, necessary steps should be established, in line with the principle of sincere cooperation among the Union institutions enshrined in Article 13(2) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), for the specification of the position of the Union.

(9)

Council Decision (EU) 2020/1707 (5) set up an efficient and expedited procedure for the establishment of the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf on the approval of Explanatory Notes, Classification Opinions or other advice on the interpretation of the Harmonized System and recommendations to secure uniformity in the interpretation of the Harmonized System under the HS Convention, and on the preparation of such acts in the WCO. As it shall expire on 31 December 2023, it is appropriate to replace it with a new Decision.

(10)

In view of the recurrent late availability of working documents before HSC meetings, and in order to preserve the Union’s rights and interests within the WCO, the Commission should strive to call on the WCO Secretariat to ensure the availability of working documents in conformity with the rules of procedure of the HSC, so that such documents are dispatched at least 30 days before the opening of the relevant session.

(11)

To ensure that the Council is able to assess and, where appropriate, revise the policy in this Decision on a regular basis, and in the spirit of the sincere cooperation among the Union institutions enshrined in Article 13(2) of the TEU, the validity of this Decision should be limited in time. In preparation of a Strategic Review of the Harmonized System, which is planned to be discussed in the WCO Policy Commission and WCO Council in June 2024, the period of validity of this Decision can be shortened before its expiry, upon a proposal from the Commission.

(12)

In order to maintain a Union position on the approval of Explanatory Notes, Classification Opinions or other advice on the interpretation of the Harmonized System and recommendations to secure uniformity in the interpretation of the Harmonized System under the HS Convention, and on the preparation of such acts in the WCO after the expiry of Decision (EU) 2020/1707 on 31 December 2023, this Decision should apply from 1 January 2024 and should therefore enter into force as a matter of urgency,