Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 20 May 2010 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof (Germany)) — Data I/O GmbH v Hauptzollamt Hannover, formerly Bundesfinanzdirektion Südost

(Case C-370/08) (1)

(Common Customs Tariff - Tariff classification - Combined Nomenclature - Chapter 84, Note 5(B) - Adapter containing a memory-chip and designed to provide the electrical connection between an automatic programming machine and electrical components to be programmed - Headings 8471, 8473 and 8536)

(2010/C 179/08)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesfinanzhof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Data I/O GmbH

Defendant: Hauptzollamt Hannover, formerly Bundesfinanzdirektion Südost

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Bundesfinanzhof — Interpretation of Note 5(B) to Chapter 84 of the Combined Nomenclature of the Common Customs Tariff 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 (OJ 1987 L 256, p. 1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1810/2004 of 7 September 2004 (OJ 2004 L 327, p. 1) — Electrical adapter ensuring the transmission of data from a programming machine to the electronic components to be programmed and containing a memory chip ensuring the storage of the programming process — Possibility of classification under heading 8471 of the Combined Nomenclature

Operative part of the judgment

An adapter, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which performs the functions of the electrical connection between the programming machine and the components to be programmed and of the storage of the programming process, which can be retrieved later, fulfils the condition set out in Note 5(B)(c) to Chapter 84 of the Combined Nomenclature 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 Regulation (EC) No 1810/2004 of 7 September 2004 and must be classified under heading 8471 thereof as a ‘unit’ of an automatic data-processing machine, in so far as its main function is to carry out data-processing. Where that function is absent, such an adapter must be classified under heading 8473 of the Combined Nomenclature as a ‘part’ or ‘accessory’ of a machine, as the case may be, if it is either essential to the functioning of that machine or constitutes a part or device designed to adapt a machine for a particular operation or an element to perform a particular service relative to the main function of that machine, which it is for the referring court to determine. Where that adapter cannot be classified under either of the abovementioned headings, it must be considered to be an ‘electrical apparatus for making connections to or in electrical circuits’, and consequently to fall under heading 8536 of the Combined Nomenclature

(1)  OJ C 285, 8.11.2008.