Court of Justice (First Chamber) 15 September 2005, C-495/03 (Intermodal Transports BV v Staatssecretaris van Financiën.)

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In Case C-495/03, the Court of Justice (First Chamber) held that a binding tariff information (BTI) issued by the customs authorities of one Member State to a third party creates rights only for its holder and cannot be directly relied upon by another party in proceedings before a court of a different Member State. Regarding the obligation to refer under Article 234 EC, the Court ruled that the existence of a divergent BTI does not automatically compel a court of last resort to make a preliminary reference, but must cause it to exercise particular care in assessing whether the correct application of the combined nomenclature (CN) is free from reasonable doubt, applying the Cilfit criteria. On the substantive classification question, the Court held that heading 8709 CN does not cover the 'Magnum ET120 Terminal Tractor'—a high-powered, closed-cab vehicle designed to move semi-trailers on industrial premises—as it constitutes neither a works truck used for the transport of goods nor a tractor of the type used on railway station platforms within the meaning of that heading.AI