The EU Has Set out Strict Rules for Businesses

The EU has set out strict rules for businesses who may try to circumvent the anti dumping provisional tariffs recently set on Chinese tiles. Lawyers acting for the European industry have confirmed that the rules operated by the European Union will impact on any businesses who try to get round the Rules operating within the EU. The Community Custom Code (CCC) has defined country of origin as it applies to any manufactured product. In the case of ceramic tiles, the country of origin is the country where the tiles were first fired as this is considered the last "substantial transformation" as defined in Article 24 of CCC. Customs authorities will not accept minor changes such as polishing or cutting as "insufficient transformation" therefore allowing the manufacturer to change the country of origin. Declaring any other origin will be a risky business, according to the lawyers, as this could be considered fraudulent leading to penalties and or criminal sanctions. The Commission may also decide to initiate investigations into countries through which Chinese tiles are re-exported, where penalties may apply to the offending business and potential the country as a whole. The Commission will also be looking out for Chinese manufacturers who have cut their prices following the tariff announcement to a lower level to take into account the provisional tariff that applies to their particular company. Tariffs currently apply to all ceramic tiles originating from China on a provisional basis from March 2011 into European Union states. A decision will be made by the EU in September at the latest to confirm or remove the tariffs for a period of up to 5 years. Source: tilezine.co.uk