2939: Alkaloids, natural or reproduced by synthesis, and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives

1. Except where the context otherwise requires, the headings of this chapter apply only to:

1. (a) separate chemically defined organic compounds, whether or not containing impurities;

2. (b) mixtures of two or more isomers of the same organic compound (whether or not containing impurities), except mixtures of acyclic hydrocarbon isomers (other than stereoisomers), whether or not saturated (Chapter 27);

3. (c) the products of headings 2936 to 2939 or the sugar ethers, sugar acetals and sugar esters, and their salts, of heading 2940, or the products of heading 2941, whether or not chemically defined;

4. (d) the products mentioned in (a), (b) or (c) above dissolved in water;

5. (e) the products mentioned in (a), (b) or (c) above dissolved in other solvents provided that the solution constitutes a normal and necessary method of putting up these products adopted solely for reasons of safety or for transport and that the solvent does not render the product particularly suitable for a specific use rather than for general use;

6. (f) the products mentioned in (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) above with an added stabiliser (including an anti-caking agent) necessary for their preservation or transport;

7. (g) the products mentioned in (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) above with an added anti-dusting agent or a colouring or odoriferous substance or an emetic added to facilitate their identification or for safety reasons, provided that the additions do not render the product particularly suitable for specific use rather than for general use;

8. (h) the following products, diluted to standard strengths, for the production of azo dyes: diazonium salts, couplers used for these salts and diazotizable amines and their salts.

2. This chapter does not cover:

1. (a) goods of heading 1504 or crude glycerol of heading 1520;

2. (b) ethyl alcohol (heading 2207 or 2208);

3. (c) methane or propane (heading 2711);

4. (d) the compounds of carbon mentioned in note 2 to Chapter 28;

5. (e) immunological products of heading 3002;

6. (f) urea (heading 3102 or 3105);

7. (g) colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin (heading 3203), synthetic organic colouring matter, synthetic organic products of a kind used as fluorescent brightening agents or as luminophores (heading 3204) or dyes or other colouring matter put up in forms or packings for retail sale (heading 3212);

8. (h) enzymes (heading 3507);

9. (ij) metaldehyde, hexamethylenetetramine or similar substances, put up in forms (for example, tablets, sticks or similar forms) for use as fuels, or liquid or liquefied-gas fuels in containers of a kind used for filling or refilling cigarette or similar lighters and of a capacity not exceeding 300 cm³ (heading 3606);

10. (k) products put up as charges for fire-extinguishers or put up in fire-extinguishing grenades, of heading 3813; ink removers put up in packings for retail sale, of heading 3824; or

11. (l) optical elements, for example, of ethylenediamine tartrate (heading 9001).

3. Goods which could be included in two or more of the headings of this chapter are to be classified in that one of those headings which occurs last in numerical order.

4. In headings 2904 to 2906, 2908 to 2911 and 2913 to 2920, any reference to halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives includes a reference to compound derivatives, such as sulphohalogenated, nitrohalogenated, nitrosulphonated or nitrosulphohalogenated derivatives.

Nitro or nitroso groups are not to be taken as ‘nitrogen-functions’ for the purposes of heading 2929.

For the purposes of headings 2911, 2912, 2914, 2918 and 2922, ‘oxygen function’, the characteristic organic oxygen-containing group of those respective headings, is restricted to the oxygen-functions referred to in headings 2905 to 2920.

5.

(A) The esters of acid-function organic compounds of sub-chapters I to VII with organic compounds of these sub-chapters are to be classified with that compound which is classified in the heading which occurs last in numerical order in these sub-chapters.

(B) Esters of ethyl alcohol with acid-function organic compounds of sub-chapters I to VII are to be classified in the same heading as the corresponding acid-function compounds.

(C) Subject to note 1 to Section VI and note 2 to Chapter 28:

1. (1) inorganic salts of organic compounds such as acid-, phenol- or enol-function compounds or organic bases, of sub-chapters I to X or heading 2942, are to be classified in the heading appropriate to the organic compound;

2. (2) salts formed between organic compounds of sub-chapters I to X or heading 2942 are to be classified in the heading appropriate to the base or to the acid (including phenol- or enol-function compounds) from which they are formed, whichever occurs last in numerical order in the chapter; and

3. (3) coordination compounds, other than products classifiable in sub-chapter XI or heading 2941, are to be classified in the heading which occurs last in numerical order in Chapter 29, among those appropriate to the fragments formed by ‘cleaving’ of all metal bonds, other than metal-carbon bonds.

(D) Metal alcoholates are to be classified in the same heading as the corresponding alcohols except in the case of ethanol (heading 2905).

(E) Halides of carboxylic acids are to be classified in the same heading as the corresponding acids.

6. The compounds of headings 2930 and 2931 are organic compounds the molecules of which contain, in addition to atoms of hydrogen, oxygen or nitrogen, atoms of other non-metals or of metals (such as sulphur, arsenic or lead) directly linked to carbon atoms.

Heading 2930 (organo-sulphur compounds) and heading 2931 (other organo-inorganic compounds) do not include sulphonated or halogenated derivatives (including compound derivatives) which, apart from hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, only have directly linked to carbon the atoms of sulphur or of a halogen which give them their nature of sulphonated or halogenated derivatives (or compound derivatives).

7. Headings 2932, 2933 and 2934 do not include epoxides with a three-membered ring, ketone peroxides, cyclic polymers of aldehydes or of thioaldehydes, anhydrides of polybasic carboxylic acids, cyclic esters of polyhydric alcohols or phenols with polybasic acids, or imides of polybasic acids.

These provisions apply only when the ring-position hetero-atoms are those resulting solely from the cyclising function or functions here listed.

8. For the purposes of heading 2937:

1. (a) the term ‘hormones’ includes hormone-releasing or hormone-stimulating factors, hormone inhibitors and hormone antagonists (anti-hormones);

2. (b) the expression ‘used primarily as hormones’ applies not only to hormone derivatives and structural analogues used primarily for their hormonal effect, but also to those derivatives and structural analogues used primarily as intermediates in the synthesis of products of this heading.