At the invitation of the Norwegian Customs Administration the Secretariat attended the Norwegian tariff classification seminar in Lillestrøm, Norway, on 1 and 2 September 2015. Classification experts from Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland and Sweden also attended the seminar, which was conducted in Norwegian.

More than 15 specific tariff classification issues raised by the six Norwegian Customs regions were considered and it clearly demonstrated that classification can be a complicated matter since views were often divided. The Norwegian Administration will now consider whether one or more of these issues should be submitted to the Harmonized System Committee for examination, as had also been the case in the past.

During the seminar, the Secretariat representative made a presentation that focused on classification advice provided to WCO Members and issues dealt with by the HS Committee. The presentation also covered a general overview of the adopted HS-2017 amendments. The representative from Denmark informed about recent classification issues considered by the EU’s Customs Code Committee and the participant from Finland explained some of the challenges related to the classification of "high-tech" consumer goods. He concluded that an update of the Harmonized System in this respect was required.

The seminar provided a good opportunity for the tariff classification experts from the Norwegian Customs regions and the Customs and Excise Directorate to consider issues of common interest with the aim of ensuring uniform classification. The active participation of the foreign guests was also appreciated by the Norwegian Administration.