Appendix II — Preferential import tariff

Iron and steel

Notes.

1. In this Chapter and, in the case of Notes (d), (e) and (f) below, throughout the Nomenclature, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them:

(a) Pig iron

Iron-carbon alloys not usefully malleable, containing more than 2% by weight of carbon and which may contain one or more other elements within the following limits:

- not more than 10% chromium

- not more than 6% manganese

- not more than 3% phosphorus

- not more than 8% silicon

- a total of not more than 10% of other elements.

(b) Spiegeleisen

Iron-carbon alloys containing more than 6% but not more than 30% by weight of manganese and otherwise conforming to the specification at (a) above.

(c) Ferro-alloys

Alloys in pigs, blocks, lumps or similar primary forms, in forms obtained by continuous casting and also in granular or powder forms, whether or not agglomerated, of a kind used as an additive in the manufacture of other alloys or as de-oxidants, desulphurising agents or for similar uses in ferrous metallurgy and generally not usefully malleable, containing by weight 4% or more of iron and one or more of the following elements:

- more than 10% chromium

- more than 30% manganese

- more than 3% phosphorus

- more than 8% silicon

- a total of more than 10% of other elements, excluding carbon, subject to a maximum content of 10% in the case of copper.

(d) Steel

Ferrous materials other than those of heading 72.03 which are usefully malleable and contain by weight 2% or less of carbon. However, chromium steels may contain higher percentages of carbon.

(e) Stainless steel

Alloy steels containing, by weight, 1.2% or less of carbon and 10.5% or more of chromium, with or without other elements.

(f) Other alloy steel

Steels not complying with the definition of stainless steel and containing by weight one or more of the following elements in the proportion shown:

- 0.3% or more of aluminium

- 0.0008% or more of boron

- 0.3% or more of chromium

- 0.3% or more of cobalt

- 0.4% or more of copper

- 0.4% or more of lead

- 1.65% or more of manganese

- 0.08% or more of molybdenum

- 0.3% or more of nickel

- 0.06% or more of niobium

- 0.6% or more of silicon

- 0.05% or more of titanium

- 0.3% or more of tungsten

- 0.1% or more of vanadium

- 0.05% or more of zirconium

- 0.1% or more of other elements (except sulphur, phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen), taken separately.

(g) Remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel

Products roughly cast in the form of ingots without feeder heads or hot tops, or of pigs, having obvious surface faults and not complying with the chemical composition of pig iron, spiegeleisen or ferro-alloys.

(h) Granules

Products of which less than 90% by weight passes through a sieve with a mesh aperture of 1 mm and of which 90% or more by weight passes through a sieve with a mesh aperture of 5 mm.

(ij) Semi-finished products

Continuous cast products of solid section, whether or not subjected to primary hot-rolling; and

Other products of solid section, which have not been further worked than subjected to primary hot-rolling or roughly shaped by forging, including blanks for angles, shapes or sections.

These products are not in coils.

(k) Flat-rolled products

Rolled products of solid rectangular (other than square) cross-section, not further worked than as defined at (ij) above, in the form of:

- coils of successively superimposed layers, or

- straight lengths, which, if of a thickness less than 4.75 mm, are of a width measuring at least 10 times the thickness or, if of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more, are of a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at least twice the thickness.

Flat-rolled products include those with patterns in relief derived directly from rolling (for example, grooves, ribs, chequers, tears, buttons, lozenges) and those which have been perforated, corrugated or polished, provided that they do not thereby assume the character of articles or products of other headings.

Flat-rolled products of a shape other than rectangular or square, of any size, are to be classified as products of a width of 600 mm or more, provided that they do not assume the character of articles or products of other headings.

(l) Bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils

Hot-rolled products in irregularly wound coils, having a solid cross-section in the shape of circles, segments of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), triangles or other 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). These products may have indentations, ribs, grooves or other deformations produced during the rolling process (reinforcing bars and rods).

(m) Other bars and rods

Products which do not conform to any of the definitions at (ij), (k) or (l) above, or to the definition of wire, having a uniform solid cross-section along their whole length in the shape of circles, segments of circles, ovals, rectangles (including squares), triangles or other 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). These products may:

- have indentations, ribs, grooves or other deformations produced during the rolling process (reinforcing bars and rods);

- be twisted after rolling.

(n) Angles, shapes and sections

Products having a uniform solid cross-section along their whole length which do not conform to any of the definitions at (ij), (k), (l) or (m) above, or to the definition of wire.

Chapter 72 does not cover the products of heading 73.01 or 73.02.

(o) Wire

Cold-formed products in coils, of any cross-section, none of the cross-sectional dimensions exceeding, other than the definition of flat-rolled products.

(p) Hollow drill bars and rods

Hollow bars and rods of any cross-section, suitable for drills, of which the greatest external dimension of the cross-section exceeds 15 mm but does not exceed 52 mm, and of which the greatest internal dimension does not exceed one-half of the greatest external dimension. Hollow bars and rods of iron or steel not conforming to this definition are to be classified in heading 73.04.

2. Ferrous metals clad with another ferrous metal are to be classified as products of the ferrous metal predominating by weight.

3. Iron or steel products obtained by electrolytic deposition, by pressure casting or by sintering are to be classified, according to their form, composition and appearance, in the appropriate headings of this Chapter as similar products obtained by hot-rolling.

Subheading Notes.

1. In this Chapter, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them:

(a) Alloy pig iron

Pig iron containing, by weight, one or more of the following elements in the specified proportion:

- more than 0.2% chromium

- more than 0.3% copper

- more than 0.3% nickel

- more than 0.1% of any of the following elements: aluminium, molybdenum, titanium, tungsten, vanadium.

(b) Free-cutting steel

Non-alloy steel containing, by weight, one or more of the following elements in the specified proportion:

- 0.08% or more of sulphur

- 0.1% or more of lead

- more than 0.05% of selenium

- more than 0.01% of tellurium

- more than 0.05% of bismuth.

(c) Silicon-electrical steel

Alloy steel containing by weight a minimum of 0.6% but not more than 6% of silicon and not more than 0.08% of carbon. It may also contain by weight not more than 1% of aluminium, but no other element in a proportion that would give the steel the characteristics of other alloy steel.

(d) High speed steel

Alloy steel containing, with or without other elements, at least two of the three elements molybdenum, tungsten and vanadium with a combined content by weight of 7% or more, 0.6% or more of carbon and 3% to 6% of chromium.

(e) Silico-manganese steel

Alloy steel containing by weight:

- not more than 0.7% of carbon,

- from 0.5% to 1.9% of manganese, and

- from 0.6% to 2.3% of silicon, but containing no other element in a proportion that would give the steel the characteristics of other alloy steel.

2. For the classification of ferro-alloys in the subheadings of heading 72.02, the following rule must be observed:

A ferro-alloy is regarded as "binary" and classified under an appropriate subheading (if such a subheading exists) if only one of the alloy elements exceeds the minimum percentage laid down in Chapter Note 1 (c); by analogy, it is regarded as "ternary" or "quaternary" if two or three alloy elements exceed the stated minimum percentages.

For the purposes of applying this rule the content of "other elements" referred to in Chapter Note 1 (c) which are not specified must exceed 10% by weight.

SUB-CHAPTER I

PRIMARY MATERIALS; PRODUCTS IN GRANULAR OR POWDER FORM

SUB-CHAPTER II

IRON AND NON-ALLOY STEEL

SUB-CHAPTER III

STAINLESS STEEL

SUB-CHAPTER IV

OTHER ALLOY STEEL; HOLLOW BARS AND RODS, OF ALLOY OR NON-ALLOY STEEL

Commodity Notes.

1. The item "black plate (tin mill black plate) for tinning" is classified in subheading 7209.18.10; it is cold-rolled steel sheet, usually of a thickness of ≥ 0.15 mm to ≤ 0.5 mm. It has a shiny surface, high flatness and edges that are more even than hot-rolled steel.

The item "black plate (tin mill black plate) for tinning" conforms to one of the following standards:

- G3303 (Japanese Industrial Standard - JIS);

- A0625, A0650, A0657 (American Society for Testing and Materials - ASTM)

- 11951 (International Organization for Standardization - ISO)

- 10203, 10205 (British Standard - European Norm - BS-EN).

The Customs authority requires the declarant to produce documents such as an Inspection Certificate or a Manufacturer's Certificate proving that this item is used for the manufacture of tin-plated steel products at the time of customs clearance and, thereafter, if necessary, will conduct a physical inspection at the place of production to verify use of the item for the declared purpose.

2. The item "hot-rolled steel of a thickness of less than 3 mm" is classified in heading 72.08; it is hot-rolled steel produced from slab-shaped steel billets by a hot-rolling process, usually in the form of coils, plates or sheets with a heavily oxidised surface, of varying colours over a single surface area (grey, dull grey or rust-coloured), and generally with large dimensional tolerances.

The Customs authority requires the declarant to produce documents such as an Inspection Certificate or a Manufacturer's Certificate proving to which standard this item, as hot-rolled steel, was produced at the time of customs clearance, and shall base its determination on the provisions of the Section Notes and the Notes to Chapter 72 (HS Explanatory Notes).

3. The item "cold-rolled steel of a thickness of 0.5 mm to 3 mm" is classified in heading 72.09; it is produced from hot-rolled steel coil by a process of rolling without heating, usually in the form of coils and sheets. It has a shiny surface, high flatness and a bright surface (if not yet oxidised).

The Customs authority requires the declarant to produce documents such as an Inspection Certificate or a Manufacturer's Certificate proving to which standard this item, as cold-rolled steel, was produced at the time of customs clearance, and shall base its determination on the provisions of the Section Notes and the Notes to Chapter 72 (HS Explanatory Notes).

4. The item "steel plated, coated or covered with tin" falls under subheadings 7210.11 and 7210.12; the item "steel plated, coated or covered with chromium oxides or with chromium and chromium oxides" falls under subheading 7210.50.

(a) Ordinary visual identification: tin, chromium or chromium oxide plating is usually dull and opaque, whereas zinc-plated items have a brighter, whiter colour (sometimes with a flower pattern);

(b) They conform to one of the following standards:

- G3303 (Japanese Industrial Standard - JIS G XXX);

- A0599-XX, A0624-XX, A0626-XX (American Society for Testing and Materials - ASTM)

- 11949 (International Organization for Standardization - ISO XXXX)

- 10203 (British Standard - European Norm - BS-EN XXXX:XXXX)

(c) The Customs authority requires the declarant to produce documents such as an Inspection Certificate or a Manufacturer's Certificate proving that this item is steel plated or coated with the above-mentioned substances at the time of customs clearance.

5. The item "reinforcing steel for concrete" falling under headings 72.13, 72.14, 72.15 is steel conforming to one of the following standards or technical regulations:

- QCVN 7:2011

- JIS G 3109

- JIS G 3112

- JIS G 3117

- GB 1499:1998

- Other international or foreign standards or technical regulations for reinforcing steel for concrete.

Where the above-mentioned standards or technical regulations for reinforcing steel for concrete are amended, supplemented or replaced, the amended, supplemented or replacement standard or technical regulation shall apply.

Where an importing enterprise declares steel as "other", it must produce a manufacturer's certificate or an inspection report from a competent inspection body or agency confirming that the imported steel item does not conform to any of the above-mentioned standards or technical regulations.