General Interpretative Rules (GIR): the six rules that decide every code

The General Interpretative Rules (GIR) are the six rules that tell you how to classify any product in the tariff. They are set out at the start of the Harmonized System and carried through into the Combined Nomenclature. The same rules decide the code at six, eight or ten digits. You do not choose among them. They are applied in order, and you move to the next rule only when the previous one does not decide the classification.

The six rules, in order

• GIR 1 - classification is determined first by the terms of the headings and any relevant section or chapter notes. Most goods are classified here. The later rules are then not needed.
• GIR 2 - extends the headings: (a) an incomplete, unfinished or unassembled article is classified as the complete one if it already has its essential character; (b) a reference to a material covers mixtures and combinations of it.
• GIR 3 - the rules for choosing between headings, used when goods could, on the face of it (prima facie), be classified under two or more headings: (a) the heading with the most specific description wins; (b) failing that, for mixtures, composite goods and sets, the component that gives the goods their essential character decides; (c) failing that, the heading that comes last in numerical order.
• GIR 4 - goods that still cannot be classified go to the heading for the goods to which they are most akin.
• GIR 5 - rules for cases, packing and containers.
• GIR 6 - the same rules apply, in the same way, when choosing between subheadings.

A closer look at sets: GIR 3(b)

GIR 3(b) applies to many everyday products. It is also where mistakes are most common. It classifies a 'set put up for retail sale' as a single whole, under the heading of the component that gives it its essential character. But before you reach essential character, you have to answer a prior question: is it a set at all?

The Commission Guidelines on the classification in the Combined Nomenclature of goods put up in sets for retail sale (2013/C 105/01) set out three conditions. All three must be met:

• the set contains at least two articles that are, on the face of it, classifiable in different headings;
• the articles are put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and
• the set is packed for sale directly to users without repacking.

If any condition fails, it is not a set, and each item is classified separately. A coffee gift set of a mug, ground coffee and chocolates is a common error. The mug is a utensil, the coffee is a beverage and the chocolates are a foodstuff. Together they do not meet a single particular need. So the box is not a set, even though it is sold as a gift, and the mug, the coffee and the chocolates are each classified separately.

Use case

Take a bathroom gift set - shower gel, bubble bath, soap and body lotion in a retail box. 

Step one, is it a set? Yes. The Commission Guidelines give this exact combination as an example of a valid set. The items are complementary and used together or in sequence for one need - washing and body care - and they are boxed for retail sale.

Step two, essential character. We ran the set through Classify AI's Quick mode. Classify AI does not classify the goods for you. It analyses the relevant BTIs, classification regulations and court rulings, and returns a reasoned answer for you to work from. Here the evidence is strong and consistent. Bath and body-care gift sets are classified as a whole. Most are classified under 3401 30 00 (organic surface-active preparations for washing the skin), where the washing preparations predominate. The alternative is 3304 99 00 (other beauty or skin-care preparations), where the cosmetic character predominates. Which one applies turns on the technical composition of the components. On the balance of the BTI evidence, 3401 30 00 is the more likely outcome.

That is GIR 3(b) in two steps: confirm it is a set, then find the essential character. Try Classify AI.