9505 90 00: Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles: other

In addition to the HS Explanatory Note to heading 9505, (A), products to be classified as festive articles must be of a decorative value (design and ornament) and exclusively designed, manufactured and recognised as festive articles. These products are used during a specific day or period during the year.

These products are, according to their construction and design (imprints, ornaments, symbols or inscriptions), intended to be used for a specific festivity.

A ‘festivity’ is a specific day or period during the year, set aside by a community, with characteristic symbols and associated customs. Some of these festivals began in antiquity with the ritual observance of specific religious events; others are accorded wide celebration and are important in national life. Examples of such events are Christmas, Easter, Halloween, St. Valentine, birthdays and weddings.

The following products are also considered to be festive articles:

• figurines decorated with festive outfits, representing seasonal themes or engaged in seasonal activities;
• decorative articles not representing a human being (dolls intended for decorative purposes, see the CNEN to subheading 9503 00 21) with festivity related symbols or wearing clothes or accessories which have the colours, design and shape associated with a specific festivity.

• artificial Halloween pumpkins (whether smiling or not);

• articles traditionally used at Easter festivities (for example, artificial Easter eggs (not used for packing purposes), yellow Easter chicks and Easter bunnies);

• printed paper decorations, which are associated with a particular festivity, to put around cakes;

• ceramic articles having festive designs and decorative functions.

Articles with utilitarian functions are excluded, even if they have the design or ornamentation appropriate to a specific festivity.

This heading does not include:

(a) toys, including stuffed animals and games;

(b) permanent magnets with decoration (so-called ‘fridge magnets’);

(c) photo frames;

(d) artificial Easter eggs used for packing purposes;

(e) statues of angels;

(f) miniature shaped decorations (for example, in the form of a handbag or a bell) used as packaging for chocolate or candies;

(g) containers and boxes (for example, in the form of a Christmas tree or Father Christmas);

(h) candle light holders with festive decorations;

(ij) ceramic articles having festive designs and utilitarian functions;

(k) tablecloths, table covers and serviettes having festive decorations;

(l) clothes and costumes.

This heading also includes transparent balloons made of plastics combined/decorated with battery operated LED garlands. After filling the balloon with air, the end is tightened in a knot. Additional decorative elements can be added inside (such as feathers, confetti, etc.) or attached on the outside, for example, ribbons. The balloons can be equipped with a handle, which is attached to the base of the balloon, to hold them in the hand or a string linked to a weight to use them as a room decoration. They are made of more resistant material than simple balloons and are thus suitable for repetitive use. The balloons serve as entertainment articles or as decorative items in a room for various occasions such as weddings, birthdays, public or private events.

Simple balloons, whether or not with LED lights lasting for a short period, for example 24 hours, and whether or not with an inscription identifying an occasion, for example, ‘Merry Christmas’, ‘Happy Birthday’, are excluded from this heading (classification as ‘other toys’ under heading 9503), see also Commission Regulation (EC) No 442/2000 (4) and the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-14/05.

(4) Commission Regulation (EC) No 442/2000 of 25 February 2000 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature (OJ L 54, 26.2.2000, p. 33).

This subheading includes products consisting of glow sticks of different dimensions and lengths, and a variety of connectors, handles or mountings from which single use articles can be assembled. They are intended for fun and entertainment at parties, concerts and other festive occasions.

Examples of such articles are imitation bracelets, earrings, necklaces, pairs of glasses; glowsticks on a handle, or other 2 or 3 dimensional objects.

The glow sticks consist of an outer plastic tube holding a clear, colourless (transparent) liquid and a glass tube with a coloured liquid. When the plastic tube is bent, the inner glass tube breaks and the liquid from the glass tube reacts with the liquid in the plastic tube. The chemical reaction that occurs produces light that lasts for several hours (this process is known as chemiluminescence).

However, glow sticks presented separately (without connectors, mountings etc.) are excluded (heading 3824).