14In its decision to refer, the Finanzgericht Hamburg states that, in a judgment of 21 July 2005, it decided, on the basis of the explanatory notes to the CN, that shelled pumpkin seeds which are not intended for sowing but for use in the baking industry should be classified under subheading 12099190 of the CN. The Finanzgeright Hamburg considers, however, that the position taken by the Netherlands Gerechtshof and the Netherlands customs administration is justifiable in so far as it seems that, according to the wording, heading 1209 of the CN concerns seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing and this wording is not inconsistent with that of the subheadings. The Finanzgericht Hamburg is therefore unsure as to whether the explanatory notes regarding heading 1209 are not contrary to the actual wording of that heading and whether these notes should not be set aside. It recalls, on this point, that, according to the case-law of the Court, though they may be an important aid to the interpretation of the scope of the various tariff headings, the explanatory notes drawn up by the Commission do not have legally binding force (Case C-143/96 Knubben Speditions [1997] ECR I-7039, paragraph 14).
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