WCO Explanatory Notes reproduced for reference. © World Customs Organization. Verify against official WCO publication.
28.03 - Carbon (carbon blacks and other forms of carbon not elsewhere specified or included). Carbon is a solid non-metal. This heading covers the following categories of carbon. Carbon black results from the incomplete combustion or cracking (by heating, by electric arc or by electric sparks) of organic substances rich in carbon, such as : (1) Natural gases such as methane, anthracenic gases (i-e., gases carburetted with anthracene) and acetylene. Acetylene black, a very fine and pure product, is obtained by the sudden decomposition, initiated by an electric spark, of compressed acetylene. (2) Naphthalene, resins, oils (lamp black). Carbon black may also be described as channel black or furnace black, according to the method of production. Carbon black may contain oily impurities. Carbon black is used as a pigment for the manufacture of aint, printing ink, shoe-polish, etc., in making carbon paper, and as a reinforcing agent in the rub er industry. ?I This heading excludes : (a) Natural graphite (heading 25.04). (b) Natural carbons in the form of solid fuels (anthracite, coal, lignite); coke, agglomerated fuels and gas carbon (Chapter 27). (c) Certain black mineral colouring matter of heading 32.06 (e.g., alu black, shale black, silica black). (d) Artificial graphite; colloidal or semi-colloidal graphite (e-g., heading 38.01). (e) Activated carbon and animal black (heading 38.02). ( f ) Wood charcoal (heading 44.02). (g) Crystalline carbon in the form of diamonds (headings 71.02 and 71.04). -
1.- Except where the context otherwise requires, the headings of this Chapter apply only to : (a) Separate chemical elements and separate chemically defined compounds, whether or not containing impurities; (b) The products mentioned in (a) above dissolved in water; (c) The products mentioned in (a) above dissolved in other solvents provided that the solution constitutes a normal and necessary method of putting up these products adopted solely for reasons of safety or for transport and that the solvent does not render the product particularly suitable for specific use rather than for general use; (d) The products mentioned in (a), (b) or (c) above with an added stabiliser (including an anti-caking agent) necessary for their preservation or transport; (e) The products mentioned in (a), (b), (c) or (d) above with an added anti-dusting agent or a colouring substance added to facilitate their identification or for safety reasons, provided that the additions do not render the product particularly suitable for specific use rather than for general use.