Chapter 39 — Plastics & articles thereof

Chapter notes

• Throughout the Nomenclature the expression 'plastics' means those materials of headings 39.01 to 39.14 which are or have been capable, either at the moment of polymerisation or at some subsequent stage, of being formed under external influence (usually heat and pressure, if necessary with a solvent or plasticiser) by moulding, casting, extruding, rolling or other process into shapes which are retained on the removal of the external influence. Throughout the Nomenclature any reference to 'plastics' also includes vulcanised fibre. The expression, however, does not apply to materials regarded as textile materials of Section XI.
• This Chapter does not cover: (a) Lubricating preparations (heading 27.10 or 34.03); (b) Waxes (heading 27.12 or 34.04); (c) Separate chemically defined organic compounds (Chapter 29); (d) Heparin or its salts (heading 30.01); (e) Solutions (other than collodions) consisting of any of the products specified in headings 39.01 to 39.13 in volatile organic solvents when the weight of the solvent exceeds 50% of the weight of the solution (heading 32.08); stamping foils (heading 32.12); (f) Organic surface-active agents or preparations (heading 34.02); (g) Run gums or ester gums (heading 38.06); (h) Prepared additives for mineral oils or other liquids used for the same purposes (heading 38.11); (i) Prepared hydraulic fluids based on polyglycols, silicones or other polymers of Chapter 39 (heading 38.19); (k) Diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing of plastics (heading 38.22); (l) Synthetic rubber, or articles thereof; (m) Saddlery or harness (heading 42.01) or trunks, suitcases, handbags or other containers of heading 42.02; (n) Plaits, wickerwork or other articles of Chapter 46; (o) Wall coverings (heading 48.14); (p) Goods of Section XI (textiles); (q) Articles of Section XII (footwear, headgear etc.); (r) Imitation jewellery (heading 71.17); (s) Articles of Section XVI; (t) Parts of aircraft or vehicles of Section XVII; (u) Articles of Chapter 90; (v) Articles of Chapter 91; (w) Articles of Chapter 92; (x) Articles of Chapter 94; (y) Articles of Chapter 95; (z) Articles of Chapter 96.
• Headings 39.01 to 39.11 apply only to goods of a kind produced by chemical synthesis, falling in the following categories: (a) Liquid synthetic polyolefins of which less than 60% by volume distils at 300°C after conversion to 1,013 millibars (headings 39.01 and 39.02); (b) Resins, not highly polymerised, of the coumarone-indene type (heading 39.11); (c) Other synthetic polymers with an average of at least 5 monomer units; (d) Silicones (heading 39.10); (e) Resols (heading 39.09) and other prepolymers.
• The expression 'copolymers' covers all polymers in which no single monomer unit contributes 95% or more by weight to the total polymer content. For the purposes of this Chapter, except where the context otherwise requires, copolymers (including co-polycondensates, co-polyaddition products, block copolymers and graft copolymers) and polymer blends are to be classified in the heading covering polymers of that comonomer unit which predominates by weight over every other single comonomer unit. Constituent comonomer units of polymers falling in the same heading shall be taken together. If no single comonomer unit predominates, copolymers or polymer blends are to be classified in the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.

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