Errata
Errata N°1 (January 2012)
Amendments to the HS Nomenclature effective from 1 January 2012
The WCO has published the agreed amendments to the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature that will enter into force on 1 January 2012.
Environmental and social issues of global concern are the major feature of the HS 2012 amendments, particularly the use of the HS as the standard for classifying and coding goods of specific importance to food security and the early warning data system of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization
The volume of amendments within, for instance, Chapter 3, for the separate identification of certain species of fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, is eye-catching. However, the modifications aim at improving the quality and precision of trade data in these commodities. The amendments include, inter alia, improved specifications for species from the Southern hemisphere. These amendments will enable economic trends in products other than those familiar to North Atlantic consumers to be monitored.
In the same vein, new subheadings have been created for the separate identification of certain edible vegetables, roots and tubers, fruit and nuts, as well as cereals. HS 2012 also features new subheadings for specific chemicals controlled under the Rotterdam Convention and ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol.
Other amendments resulted from changes in international trade patterns.These include deleting more than 40 subheadings due to the low volume of trade in specific products, separately identifying certain commodities in either existing or new headings, and reflecting advances in technology where possible. Finally, a number of amendments aim to clarify texts to ensure uniform application of the HS Nomenclature.
The recommendation to delete subheading 5308.10 for coir yarn in the nomenclature will not take effect on 1 January 2012 due to an objection having been lodged by one of the Contracting Parties to the HS Convention.
Consequential amendments to the HS Nomenclature 2012 Edition
The WCO Council, at its 115th/116th Sessions in June 2010, adopted the following amendments to the HS Nomenclature 2012 Edition:
- certain corrigendum amendments to the HS Nomenclature following the Council Recommendation of 26 June 2009 concerning the amendment of the HS Nomenclature;
- an Article 16 Council Recommendation concerning the amendment of the HS Nomenclature (consequential upon the corrigendum amendments following the Council Recommendation of 26 June 2009);
The amendments are required in order to take account of the necessary alignment of the French and English texts of certain subheadings of headings 03.02 to 03.05 and of heading 96.19, and the creation of the new Note 1 to Chapter 42 and new Subheading Note 1 to Chapter 44.
The Article 16 Recommendation concerning the legal requirements consequential upon the corrigendum amendments to the HS 2012 will enter into force on 1 January 2013, following the procedure established under Article 16 of the HS Convention.
However, by applying the corrigendum procedure approved by the Council at its Sessions in June 2010, the amendments could enter into force on the 1st of January 2012 to reflect the situation as from that date.
The WCO Council, at its Sessions in June 2010, also approved certain corrections to spelling of the scientific name for Alaska Pollack in the text of HS 2012 subheadings 0302.55, 0303.67, 0304.75, 0304.94 and 0304.95. The correct scientific name for Alaska Pollack should read: “Theragra chalcogramma”.
Click NG0168B1 to see the Article 16 Council Recommendation concerning the amendment of the HS Nomenclature.
Additional consequential amendments to the HS Nomenclature 2012 Edition
The WCO Council, at its 117th/118th Sessions in June 2011 and at its 119th/120th Sessions in June 2012, adopted supplementary corrigendum amendments to the HS Nomenclature 2012 Edition.
The supplementary corrigendum amendments were required in order to correct a few editorial errors and technical inconsistencies found in the Recommendation of 26 June 2009 concerning the amendment of the HS Nomenclature for entry into force on 1 January 2012.
The corrigendum amendments to the Nomenclature (HS 2012) read as follows :
CHAPTER 3.
Subheading 0302.24.
Delete and substitute :
“0302.24 -- Turbots (Psetta maxima)”.
Subheading 0303.34.
Delete and substitute :
“0303.34 -- Turbots (Psetta maxima)”.
CHAPTER 7.
Subheading 0713.34. Subheading text.
French text only.
CHAPTER 56.
Subheading 5601.2. Subheading text.
Delete and substitute :
"-Wadding of textile materials and articles thereof."
An Article 16 Recommendation concerning the legal requirements consequential upon the corrigendum amendments to the HS 2012 will enter into force on 1 January 2017, following the procedure established under Article 16 of the HS Convention.
However, by applying the corrigendum procedure approved by the Council at its Sessions in June 2012, the amendments could enter into force on the 1st of January 2012 to reflect the situation as from that date.