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Case law

Topic Case (link) Date Key holding (one line) Practical takeaway
Non-preferential / substantial transformation (steel pipes) C-86/24 — CS STEEL a.s. v Generální ředitelství cel. (EUR-Lex) (EUR-Lex) 2 Oct 2025 Annex 22-01’s primary rule excluding cold-reduction as a change of origin for certain hot-finished steel tubes is valid — later cold finishing did not create a new origin. If a primary rule in the UCC/Delegated Reg. lists which operations change origin, those codified rules override ad-hoc arguments that later processing creates origin; check the exact Annex entry for the HS code. 
Binding Origin Information (BOI) / administrative review C-297/23 P — Harley-Davidson Europe Ltd & Neovia Logistics v Commission (EUR-Lex / CURIA) (EUR-Lex) 21 Nov 2024 The Court reviewed Commission revocation of BOI decisions — clarified scope of ‘processing not economically justified’, administrative procedure and legitimate-expectation limits on revoking BOIs.  BOIs provide useful certainty but can be revoked; companies should document economics/processing rationale and be ready to contest revocations on procedural or substantive grounds. 
Non‑preferential / substantial transformation (steel cables)
C‑260/08 — Bundesfinanzdirektion West v HEKO Industrieerzeugnisse GmbH (EUR‑Lex)
10 Dec 09
The Court held that “substantial processing or working” for non‑preferential origin may arise even without a change in tariff heading, if the processing results in a product with its own specific properties and composition distinct from the input product, and that non‑binding list rules cannot alter Article 24’s meaning.
For non‑preferential origin analysis, don’t rely solely on tariff‑heading changes or list rules: assess whether the processing results in qualitatively new product properties that reflect a genuine substantial transformation under UCC Article 60(2) (formerly CC Article 24).