Case C-227/17: Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 12 April 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Düsseldorf — Germany) — Medtronic GmbH v Finanzamt Neuss (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 — Customs Union and Common Customs Tariff — Tariff classification — Combined Nomenclature — Subheadings 9021 10 10, 9021 10 90 and 9021 90 90 — Spinal fixation systems — Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1214/2014)

Judgment of the Court (Tenth Chamber) of 12 April 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Düsseldorf — Germany) — Medtronic GmbH v Finanzamt Neuss

(Case C-227/17) ( 1 )

‛(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 — Customs Union and Common Customs Tariff — Tariff classification — Combined Nomenclature — Subheadings 9021 10 10, 9021 10 90 and 9021 90 90 — Spinal fixation systems — Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1214/2014)’

Referring court

Finanzgericht Düsseldorf

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Medtronic GmbH

Defendant: Finanzamt Neuss

Operative part of the judgment

The Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1754 of 6 October 2015, must be interpreted as meaning that spinal fixation systems such as those at issue in the main proceedings may not be classified under subheading 9021 90 90 of the Combined Nomenclature if they are covered by another subheading of heading 9021 of the Combined Nomenclature. Whether those systems may be classified under subheading 9021 10 10 or subheading 9021 10 90 of the Combined Nomenclature will depend on the principal function they perform, which is a matter for the referring court to determine by having regard to the objective characteristics and properties of such systems as well as to their intended and actual use.

( 1 ) OJ C 249, 31.7.2017.