Section XV: Base metals and articles of base metal

1. This section does not cover:

1. (a) prepared paints, inks or other products with a basis of metallic flakes or powder (headings 3207 to 3210, 3212, 3213 or 3215);

2. (b) ferro-cerium or other pyrophoric alloys (heading 3606);

3. (c) headgear or parts thereof of heading 6506 or 6507;

4. (d) umbrella frames or other articles of heading 6603;

5. (e) goods of Chapter 71 (for example, precious-metal alloys, base metal clad with precious metal, imitation jewellery);

6. (f) articles of Section XVI (machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical goods);

7. (g) assembled railway or tramway track (heading 8608) or other articles of Section XVII (vehicles, ships and boats, aircraft);

8. (h) instruments or apparatus of Section XVIII, including clock or watch springs;

9. (ij) lead shot prepared for ammunition (heading 9306) or other articles of Section XIX (arms and ammunition);

10. (k) articles of Chapter 94 (for example, furniture, mattress supports, luminaires and lighting fittings, illuminated signs, prefabricated buildings);

11. (l) articles of Chapter 95 (for example, toys, games, sports requisites);

12. (m) hand sieves, buttons, pens, pencil-holders, pen nibs, monopods, bipods, tripods and similar articles or other articles of Chapter 96 (miscellaneous manufactured articles); or

13. (n) articles of Chapter 97 (for example, works of art).

2. Throughout the nomenclature, the expression ‘parts of general use’ means:

1. (a) articles of heading 7307, 7312, 7315, 7317 or 7318 and similar articles of other base metal, other than articles specially designed for use exclusively in implants in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences (heading 9021);

2. (b) springs and leaves for springs, of base metal, other than clock or watch springs (heading 9114); and

3. (c) articles of headings 8301, 8302, 8308, 8310 and frames and mirrors, of base metal, of heading 8306.

In Chapters 73 to 76 and 78 to 82 (but not in heading 7315), references to parts of goods do not include references to parts of general use as defined above.

Subject to the preceding paragraph and to note 1 to Chapter 83, the articles of Chapter 82 or 83 are excluded from Chapters 72 to 76 and 78 to 81.

3. Throughout the nomenclature, the expression ‘base metals’ means: iron and steel, copper, nickel, aluminium, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten (wolfram), molybdenum, tantalum, magnesium, cobalt, bismuth, cadmium, titanium, zirconium, antimony, manganese, beryllium, chromium, germanium, vanadium, gallium, hafnium, indium, niobium (columbium), rhenium and thallium.

4. Throughout the nomenclature, the term ‘cermets’ means products containing a microscopic heterogeneous combination of a metallic component and a ceramic component. The term ‘cermets’ includes sintered metal carbides (metal carbides sintered with a metal).

5. Classification of alloys (other than ferro-alloys and master alloys as defined in Chapters 72 and 74):

1. (a) An alloy of base metals is to be classified as an alloy of the metal which predominates by weight over each of the other metals.

2. (b) An alloy composed of base metals of this section and of elements not falling within this section is to be treated as an alloy of base metals of this section if the total weight of such metals equals or exceeds the total weight of the other elements present.

3. (c) In this section, the term ‘alloys’ includes sintered mixtures of metal powders, heterogeneous intimate mixtures obtained by melting (other than cermets) and intermetallic compounds.

6. Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in the nomenclature to a base metal includes a reference to alloys which, by virtue of note 5 above, are to be classified as alloys of that metal.

7. Classification of composite articles:

Except where the headings otherwise require, articles of base metal (including articles of mixed materials treated as articles of base metal under the general interpretative rules) containing two or more base metals are to be treated as articles of the base metal predominating by weight over each of the other metals.

For this purpose:

1. (a) Iron and steel, or different kinds of iron or steel, are regarded as one and the same metal.

2. (b) An alloy is regarded as being entirely composed of that metal as an alloy of which, by virtue of note 5, it is classified.

3. (c) A cermet of heading 8113 is regarded as a single base metal.

8. In this section, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them:

1. (a) Waste and scrap

   1. (1) all metal waste and scrap;

   2. (2) metal goods definitely not usable as such because of breakage, cutting-up, wear or other reasons.

2. (b) Powders

   Products of which 90 % or more by weight passes through a sieve having a mesh aperture of 1 mm.

9. For the purposes of Chapters 74 to 76 and 78 to 81, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them:

1. (a) Bars and rods

   Rolled, extruded, drawn or forged products, not in coils, which have a uniform solid cross-section along their whole length in the shape of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), equilateral triangles or regular convex polygons (including ‘flattened circles’ and ‘modified rectangles’, of which two opposite sides are convex arcs, the other two sides being straight, of equal length and parallel). Products with a rectangular (including square), triangular or polygonal cross-section may have corners rounded along their whole length. The thickness of such products which have a rectangular (including ‘modified rectangular’) cross-section exceeds one-tenth of the width. The expression also covers cast or sintered products, of the same forms and dimensions, which have been subsequently worked after production (otherwise than by simple trimming or de-scaling), provided that they have not thereby assumed the character of articles or products of other headings.

   Wire-bars and billets of Chapter 74 with their ends tapered or otherwise worked simply to facilitate their entry into machines for converting them into, for example, drawing stock (wire-rod) or tubes, are however to be taken to be unwrought copper of heading 7403. This provision applies mutatis mutandis to the products of Chapter 81.

2. (b) Profiles

   Rolled, extruded, drawn, forged or formed products, coiled or not, of a uniform cross-section along their whole length, which do not conform to any of the definitions of bars, rods, wire, plates, sheets, strip, foil, tubes or pipes. The expression also covers cast or sintered products, of the same forms, which have been subsequently worked after production (otherwise than by simple trimming or de-scaling), provided that they have not thereby assumed the character of articles or products of other headings.

3. (c) Wire

   Rolled, extruded or drawn products, in coils, which have a uniform solid cross-section along their whole length in the shape of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), equilateral triangles or regular convex polygons (including ‘flattened circles’ and ‘modified rectangles’, of which two opposite sides are convex arcs, the other two sides being straight, of equal length and parallel). Products with a rectangular (including square), triangular or polygonal cross-section may have corners rounded along their whole length. The thickness of such products which have a rectangular (including ‘modified rectangular’) cross-section exceeds one-tenth of the width.

4. (d) Plates, sheets, strip and foil

   Flat-surfaced products (other than the unwrought products), coiled or not, of solid rectangular (other than square) cross-section with or without rounded corners (including ‘modified rectangles’ of which two opposite sides are convex arcs, the other two sides being straight, of equal length and parallel) of a uniform thickness, which are:

   - of rectangular (including square) shape with a thickness not exceeding one-tenth of the width

   - of a shape other than rectangular or square, of any size, provided that they do not assume the character of articles or products of other headings.

   Headings for plates, sheets, strip, and foil apply, inter alia, to plates, sheets, strip, and foil with patterns (for example, grooves, ribs, chequers, tears, buttons, lozenges) and to such products which have been perforated, corrugated, polished or coated, provided that they do not thereby assume the character of articles or products of other headings.

5. (e) Tubes and pipes

   Hollow products, coiled or not, which have a uniform cross-section with only one enclosed void along their whole length in the shape of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), equilateral triangles or regular convex polygons, and which have a uniform wall thickness. Products with a rectangular (including square), equilateral triangular or regular convex polygonal cross-section, which may have corners rounded along their whole length, are also to be considered as tubes and pipes provided the inner and outer cross-sections are concentric and have the same form and orientation. Tubes and pipes of the foregoing cross-sections may be polished, coated, bent, threaded, drilled, waisted, expanded, cone-shaped or fitted with flanges, collars or rings.