Classification
Classification updates: HS2028, EU case law, and AI
Christopher Sievers06 May 2026
Classification updates: HS2028, EU case law, and AI
HS2028 introduces significant changes to global tariff classification, and this recording is relevant for customs and trade compliance professionals who need to prepare their master data and classification governance ahead of the new revision. Topics covered: The HS2028 revision cycle: why it is a six-year rather than five-year cycle, and...
Classification
Description of goods in foreign trade processes (in the EU)
Christopher Matt16 Feb 2025
Description of goods in foreign trade processes (in the EU)
'The challenge of correctly describing goods in customs declarations' was the topic of a recent EU Customs Roundtable session, where Christopher Matt (MA-TAX Consulting GmbH) explains why the goods description is the true starting point of tariff classification and how German customs is now enforcing these requirements in practice. Topics...
Classification
Tariff classification of goods: where AI can help you?Christopher Matt02 Jun 2024
Tariff classification of goods: where AI can help you?
Christopher Matt (MA-TAX Consulting GmbH) gives a practitioner's assessment of where generative AI genuinely helps with tariff classification of goods, and where it still falls short — essential viewing for anyone in customs and trade compliance considering tools such as ChatGPT or Claude for classification work. Topics covered: Live classification...
Classification
Digitalisation
What is a 'communication on BTI' in the EU?
Enrika Naujokė02 Jun 2024
What is a 'communication on BTI' in the EU?
Enrika Naujokė (Director, CustomsClear) explains the EU's annual "communication on BTI decisions" and why every customs and trade compliance professional, not only Binding Tariff Information (BTI) holders, should watch out for it each time it is published. Topics covered: Recent EU legal and digital-policy developments related to AI: opening EuroHPC...
Classification
Hidden element of tariff classification: Legislative purpose
Omer Wagner03 Jan 2024
Hidden element of tariff classification: Legislative purpose
In this short conference talk from the 19th Author's Meeting, Omer Wagner examines a "hidden element" of tariff classification under Israeli case law — the legislative purpose behind a tax rule — and what it means for customs brokers' professional liability. Topics covered: The role of the Harmonised System (HS)...
Classification
Classification of goods: pitfalls in the use of automationChristopher Matt01 Oct 2023
Classification of goods: pitfalls in the use of automation
Christopher Matt, Managing Director and Head of the classification and export controls unit at MA-TAX Consulting GmbH, shares practical lessons from 15 years of running customs classification as a full outsourced service — and warns against over-trusting software-driven classification "suggestions." Topics covered: Why customs tariff numbers are master data for...
Classification
Digitalisation
Central customs IT processes in a company: classification
Michael Tomuscheit23 Apr 2023
Central customs IT processes in a company: classification
Tariff classification sits at the centre of a company's customs IT landscape, feeding everything from clearance to export-control sanctions screening — this lesson explains how to design a classification process and part master that scale across countries. Topics covered: Why tariff classification serves multiple purposes: customs procedures, origin determination, and...
Classification
Digitalisation
How the change of use of goods impacts their tariff classification?
How the change of use of goods impacts their tariff classification?
09 Oct 2022
A short animated case study for customs and trade compliance professionals showing how a change in the actual use of goods can overturn their tariff classification and trigger a retroactive duty demand, illustrated through a real Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling (Case C-559/18, TDK-Lambda Germany GmbH...
Classification
Tariff classification puzzle: the bulb
Tariff classification puzzle: the bulb
30 Jul 2021
This short animated story shows how easily an importer can fall into a tariff classification pitfall, and how costly getting it wrong can be, illustrated through a fictionalised account based on a real Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case (Case C-600/15). Topics covered: Tariff classification of a...
Classification