“the General Rules quoted above provide a hierarchical set of principles, and if the correct classification can be ascertained at a 25 given stage it is unnecessary to proceed any further.”
“10 The Goods are ‘phase change components’ which are specially 7 designed to be used with particular models of Xerox solid ink printers which are designed for use in an office environment, and not by specially trained operators. By ‘phase change components’ is meant that the Goods, when inserted in the printers, are exposed to heating elements 5 which induce a phase change, being a change from a solid waxy substance to a liquid form, enabling them in that form to be propelled by a printing jet onto paper or other print media. The Goods are informally referred to as ‘ink sticks’ and from time to time we refer to them 10 thus in what follows. They are referred to in the documents produced by Xerox in support of the appeal as “solid ink”, for example, the “Solid Ink Advantage Brochure” and the website publicity headed: “The Truth About Solid Ink”. 11 The Goods (‘ink sticks’) are made up of waterless material 15 containing resins, waxes, dyes or pigments and other chemicals, and are different in composition from liquid ink and powdered toner. 12 In their condition as imported, the Goods are solid, in definite complex engineered and stable shapes, with mechanical strength. 20 An ‘ink stick’ may contain 50 or more discreet surfaces, being straight or curved. The Goods are designed to be installed into a printer, while remaining in their solid form and engineered shapes. On installation, they interact mechanically and their mechanical strength enables several ‘ink sticks’ to be stacked 25 one on top of the other in the printer's feeder mechanism. This has the practical consequence that each colour of ‘ink stick’ can be reloaded into the printer's feeder mechanism without any interruption of the printer's operation. An indicator on the printer's user interface shows the level remaining of each colour 30 of ‘ink stick’ in the printer, thus facilitating reloading at the appropriate time(s). 13 The Goods are the subject of hundreds of patents, most of them issued in the United States. Each ‘ink stick’ has a specialised and unique shape dictated by the printer, which it is designed to work 35 with, and the colour of the pigment contained in it. Four different colours of ‘ink stick’ are used – cyan, yellow, magenta and black. Each colour of ‘ink stick’ has a shape unique to that colour, so that it will only fit into the printer feeder lane specific to that colour – this is designed to prevent users from 40 accidentally loading ‘ink sticks’ of one colour into the ‘raceway’ on the printer's feeder mechanism dedicated to ‘ink sticks’ of another colour. Colour printing involves using complex algorithms and large digital data files to direct the print mechanism to dispense droplets of specific colours (cyan, 45 yellow, magenta or black) in particular places in predetermined 8 orders.”
“the decisive criterion for the classification of goods for customs 11 purposes is in general to be sought in their objective characteristics and properties as defined in the wording of the relevant heading of the CN and in the section or chapter notes.”
“we have found that the Goods retain at least some of the objective 20 properties and characteristics of “ink” (see in particular paragraphs [73] and [82] above)…”
“(A) Printing inks (or colours) are pastes of varying consistency, obtained by mixing a finely divided black or coloured pigment with a vehicle. The pigment is usually carbon black for black inks and may be organic or inorganic for coloured inks. The 15 vehicle consists of either natural resins or synthetic polymers, dispersed in oils or dissolved in solvents, and contains a small quantity of additives to impart desired functional properties. (B) Ordinary writing or drawing inks are solutions or suspensions of a black or coloured material in water, usually with the 20 addition of gum and other products (e.g. preservatives). These include inks based on iron salts, inks based on logwood extracts or on synthetic organic colours. Indian ink, used mainly for drawing, consists usually of carbon black in suspension in water (with the addition of gum Arabic, shellac, etc.), or in certain 25 animal glues. (C) Other inks in this heading include: (1) Copying and hectographic inks (ordinary inks thickened with glycerol, sugar, etc.). (2) Inks for ball point pens. 30 (3) Inks for duplicating machines or for impregnating ink-pads or typewriter ribbons. (4) Marking inks (e.g. based on silver nitrate). (5) Metallic inks (finely divided metals or alloys in suspension in a solution of gum, e.g. gold, silver or bronze inks). 35 (6) Prepared sympathetic or invisible inks (e.g. based on cobalt chloride). These products are generally in the form of liquids or pastes, but they are also included in this heading when concentrated or solid (i.e., 13 powders, tablets, sticks, etc.) to be used as inks after simple dilution or dispersion.”
“So far it would appear from the Explanatory Note that 5 they are to be included in CN heading 3215.”
“However, the Goods are not to be used as inks ‘after simple dilution or dispersion’, but after a heating and liquefying procedure (a phase 10 change) which, on the evidence, we would not regard as ‘simple’ but as highly complex. To this extent it would appear that the Explanatory Note does not indicate that they are to be included in CN heading 3215.”
“the intended use of a product may constitute an objective criterion for classification if it is inherent to the product, 5 and that inherent character must be capable of being assessed on the basis of the product’s objective characteristics and properties.”
“This indicates to us that an article containing or comprising ink (such as an ‘ink stick’ in this case) must have some additional physical feature which could not be described as “ink”’ to require it to be 25 classifiable under a CN heading other than 3215. Further, that additional physical feature must be such as to indicate specifically the other CN heading under which it would be classifiable – as the ball point element of Ballpoint Refills indicates CN heading 9608. The Goods, in our view, have no physical feature which could not be 30 described as “ink”, albeit solid “ink” and we conclude that they are classifiable under CN 3215.”
“It is not practicable to lay down hard and fast rules by which to determine whether one heading more specifically describes the goods than another, but in general it may be said that: (a) A description by name is more specific than a description by 10 class (e.g. shavers and hair clippers, with self-contained electric motor, are classified in heading 85.10 and not in heading 84.67 as tools for working in the hand with self-contained electric motor or in heading 85.09 as electro-mechanical domestic appliances with self-contained electric motor). 15 (b) If the goods answer to a description which more clearly identifies them, that description is more specific than one where identification is less complete. Examples of the latter category of goods are: (1) Tufted textile carpets, identifiable for use in motor cars, 20 which are to be classified not as accessories of motor cars in heading 87.08 but in heading 57.03, where they are more specifically described as carpets. (2) Unframed safety glass consisting of toughened or laminated glass, shaped and identifiable for use in aeroplanes, which is 25 to be classified not in heading 88.03 as parts of goods of heading 88.01 or 88.02 but in heading 70.07, where it is more specifically described as safety glass.”