WCO Explanatory Notes reproduced for reference. © World Customs Organization. Verify against official WCO publication.
05.10 - Ambergris, castoreum, civet and musk; cantharides; bile, whether or not dried; glands and other animal products used in the preparation of pharmaceutical products, fresh, chilled, frozen or otherwise provisionally preserved. Ambergris is a substance secreted by the sperm-whale and is found in the form of rounded masses made u of concentric layers and weighin up to a hundred kilograms. It has a waxy consistency an gives a sweet odour when rubbed. t varies from ash grey to black in colour and its density is less than that of water. Ambergris should not be confused with yellow amber (succinite) which is a mineral resin and falls in heading 25.30. B H Castoreum is a resinous substance, brown, reddish or yellowish, with a bitter flavour and a pungent smell. It is secreted by beavers and is usually presented in the pouches (generally 'oined at their ends) in which it 1s formed. These pouches are often pleated and range in l e n d from 5 to 10 cm. Civet is produced by the civet cat and is a golden brown or brown resinous substance of pasty and oily consistency, with a very strong odour which closely resembles natural musk. Musk, secreted by a kind of deer, is normally enclosed in pouches (flat and hairless on one side and convex and covered with whitish hair on the other) in which it is formed. The secretion is dark brown and has a strong smell. The musk in question should not be confused with artificial musk (musk xylene, musk ambrette, etc.) included in Chapter 29. Cantharides are beetles used primaril for their vesicant or counter-imtant properties. They are usually presented in dried or powdere form. 7' The heading also includes : (I) Animal glands and other animal organs used in the preparation of organo-therapeutic mducts and unfit, by reason of their nature or of the manner in which they are put u p for guman consumption (pancreas, testes, ovaries, gall bags, thyroid glands, pituitary g ands etc.), fiesh, chlled or frozen, or otherwise provisionall preserved*for the purposes of transport or storage (e.g., in gl cerol, acetone or alcohog When dned or m the form of extract, these products are exc uded (heading 30.01). (See however Note 1 (a) to this Chapter as regards edible products.) I (2) Bile, whether or not dried. (Bile extract is excluded - heading 30.01). The heading also excludes snake or bee venom put up in dried flakes in sealed ampoules (heading 30.01).
1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Edible products (other than guts, bladders and stomachs of animals, whole and pieces thereof, and animal blood, liquid or dried); (b) Hides or skins (including furskins) other than goods of heading 05.05 and parings and similar waste of raw hides or skins of heading 05.11 (Chapter 41 or 43); (c) Animal textile materials, other than horsehair and horsehair waste (Section XI); or (d) Prepared knots or tufts for broom or brush making (heading 96.03). 2.- For the purposes of heading 05.01, the sorting of hair by length (provided the root ends and tip ends respectively are not arranged together) shall be deemed not to constitute working. 3.- Throughout the Nomenclature, elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal and wild boar tusks, rhinoceros horns and the teeth of all animals are regarded as “ivory”. 4.- Throughout the Nomenclature, the expression “horsehair” means hair of the manes or tails of equine or bovine animals. Heading 05.11 covers, inter alia, horsehair and horsehair waste, whether or not put up as a layer with or without supporting material.