Which timber products are and are not covered?

Which products are covered by the scope of the EU Timber Regulation?

Definition: ‘timber and timber products’ means the timber and timber products listed below, with the exception of timber products or components of such products manufactured from timber or timber products that have completed their lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste[1].

The Regulation applies to the following timber and timber products:

• Fuel wood, in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms; wood in chips or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms

• Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared

• Railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood

• Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm

• Sheets for veneering (including those obtained by slicing laminated wood), for plywood or for other similar laminated wood and other wood, sawn lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded, spliced or end- jointed, of a thickness not exceeding 6 mm

• Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, moulded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed

• Particle board, oriented strand board (OSB) and similar board (for example, waferboard) of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not agglomerated with resins or other organic binding substances

• Fibreboard of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances

• Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood

• Densified wood, in blocks, plates, strips or profile shapes

• Wooden frames for paintings, photographs, mirrors or similar objects

• Packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, of wood; cable-drums of wood; pallets, box pallets and other load boards, of wood; pallet collars of wood. (Not packing material used exclusively as packing material to support, protect or carry another product placed on the market.)

• Casks, barrels, vats, tubs and other coopers’ products and parts thereof, of wood, including staves

• Builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels, assembled flooring panels, shingles and shakes

• Pulp and paper, with the exception of bamboo-based and recovered (waste and scrap) products

• Wooden furniture

• Prefabricated buildings

The above list is taken from the annex of the EU Timber Regulation text.

Combined Nomenclature codes

The products are listed in the annex with a code according to the Combined Nomenclature or CN comprised of the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature. The Combined Nomenclature codes are set out in Annex I to the Combined Nomenclature Regulation (Regulation EEC No 265/87 Tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff). This Annex is updated annually and is available for download here. The CN codes are followed by a description which can help establish if a specific timber or wood product is covered by the regulation.

Further assistance on which particular code a product falls under can be obtained by calling the HMRC Tariff Classification Service Enquiry Line 01702 366 077 or by using UK Trade Tariff which is a search tool for identifying CN codes.

Products currently NOT covered by the EU Timber Regulation

Below are listed a selection of timber and wood products which are not covered by the EU Timber Regulation, with reference to the Combined Nomenclature codes. Please note that this list is for guidance only and that operators and traders are responsible for checking if products are covered.

•  Seats (CN 9401), including wood framed dining room chairs, office chairs, garden chairs and benches (non-upholstered CN code 9401 6900 00) and sofas and arm chairs (upholstered CN code 9401 6100 00).

• Medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture (CN 9402).
  Note that wooden furniture of the kind used in offices (CN 940330), in the kitchen (CN 940340), in the bedroom (CN 94035000) and other wooden furniture (CN 940360) including parts of wood (CN 94039030) is covered by the regulation.

• Printed books, Newspapers, pictures, and other products of the printing industry, manuscripts (Chapter 49)

• Musical instruments (Chapter 92)

• Toys, games and sports requisites, parts and accessories thereof (Chapter 95)

• Tools, broom or brush bodies and handles of wood (CN code 4417) and spoons (Chapter 82)

• Brooms and brushes (CN 9603)

• Clothes hangers (CN code 4421)

• Walking sticks, umbrellas and sun umbrellas (Chapter 66)

• Clocks and watches (Chapter 91)

• Lamps and lighting fittings (CN 9405)

• Pens (Chapter 9608) and pencils (CN 9609)

• Smoking pipes (CN 9614 00)

• Works of art, collectors pieces and antiques (Chapter 97)

• Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewellery or cutlery, and similar articles, of wood; statuettes and other ornaments, of wood; wooden articles of furniture not falling in Chapter 94 (CN 4420)

• Cork and articles of cork (chapter 45)

• Waste products
  Timber products or components of such products manufactured from timber or timber products that have completed their lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste are also not covered by the EU Timber Regulation. ‘Waste’ is defined as ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’.

Please note that though the products listed above are not currently covered by the EU Timber Regulation they are likely to be included in the scope in the future. It will therefore be good practise to apply due diligence across all products made of or containing wood or wood fibres.