5301 — Flax, raw or processed, but not spun; flax tow and waste, incl. yarn waste and garnetted stock

5301 Flax, raw or processed but not spun; flax tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) (+): 5301 10 – flax, raw or retted – flax, broken, scutched, hackled or otherwise processed, but not spun: 5301 21 – – broken or scutched 5301 29 – – other 5301 30 – flax tow and waste

There are many varieties of flax, the best known being Linum usitatissimum. Flax fibres are present in the plant in the form of compact bundles of bast fibres held together by a pectic substance. For use in the textile industry the fibres must be separated from one another and also from the remains of the plant, in particular from the inner woody part. This heading covers raw flax, retted flax, as well as scutched, hackled or otherwise processed flax, but not spun. (A) Raw flax (flax straw). This is flax after harvesting, whether or not deseeded (i.e., with the leaves and seeds removed). (B) Retted flax. Retting removes most of the pectic substances surrounding the fibres, either by fermentation (by the action of bacteria or moulds) or chemically. Retting is usually carried out by the following methods: (1) by spreading the plants out to the action of dew or moisture; (2) by immersing the plants in slow-flowing streams or rivers or in stagnant water in pits or ponds; (3) by immersion in warm water in large tanks; or (4) by treatment with steam or micro-organisms, or with chemicals.

The retted flax is then dried in the open air or mechanically. The fibres are then sufficiently loosened from the inner woody part of the plant, and they are separated from one another by breaking and scutching. (C) Scutched flax. The flax is first broken to crush the woody part into small pieces, and then scutched, i.e., the woody part is beaten off by hand or mechanically, leaving the flax fibres. In the course of this process a certain amount of tow and waste is produced. (D) Cottonised flax. Raw flax is boiled in a solution of sodium hydroxide, then impregnated with sodium carbonate; it is then treated with dilute acid, as a result of which the stems split into their component parts, liberating carbon dioxide and freeing the flax fibres. Flax treated in this way does not require retting or scutching. Cottonised flax is usually bleached. (E) Hackled (combed) flax. Hackling splits the flax fibre bundles and lays the fibres parallel, removing the remains of any foreign matter and also all short or broken fibres (machine tow). As a rule, after processing on hackling machines the flax is in the form of loose bundles of fibres. The fibres then pass through a spreading machine and emerge in the form of a continuous sliver. These slivers undergo a series of doublings and drawings and are transformed into roving. Slivers and roving are classified in this heading provided they have not yet been made into yarn. At the final stage of processing the roving may be drawn out approximately to the thickness of a single yarn, usually with a slight twist. This product is classified in this heading, as distinct from single yarn, which falls in heading 5306. (F) Flax tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock). Tow usually consists of flax waste of varying quality suitable for spinning; it generally consists of short, knotted, broken or tangled fibres obtained at various stages of processing, such as scutching, hackling (combing) and spinning. The heading also covers yarn waste obtained in the course of spinning, reeling or weaving, and fibre waste obtained by pulling waste materials or finished articles into their constituent fibres; these are usually intended to be re-spun into yarn. Tow and other waste intended for spinning are, because of the short length of their fibres, usually carded rather than combed. Slivers and roving obtained after carding are also classified in this heading. The heading also covers waste unsuitable for spinning into yarn, obtained mainly in the course of scutching or hackling and used as padding or stuffing, as a binder in mortars or as a raw material in the manufacture of certain kinds of paper. The products described above are classified in this heading whether bleached or unbleached, dyed or undyed. The heading excludes: (a) Broken woody pieces obtained in scutching (heading 4401);

(b) certain fibrous plant materials, sometimes called flax, for example Indian flax (Abroma augusta) (heading 5303) and New Zealand hemp or flax (Phormium tenax) (heading 5305). Explanation of the subheading. Subheading 5301 21 This subheading includes flax produced from flaxes.

Additional note

Machine translation. The original is the Russian text of the EAEU tariff, and customs goes by it; this translation is for understanding only and has no legal force.

1. (A) Subject to the exceptions specified in note 1(B) below, in subheadings 5306 10 900 0, 5306 20 900 0 and 5308 20 900 0, the term “retail packaged” in relation to yarn (single, multi-spin (twisted) or single-spin) means yarn prepackaged:

(a) in tangles or on cardboard plates, coils, cartridges or similar carriers of a mass (including the mass of the carrier) not exceeding 200 g;

(b) in brushes or rolls weighing not more than 125 g;

(c) in pasmas or coils comprising several smaller pasmas or coils separated by threads which make them independent of each other, each of these smaller pasmas or coils weighing not more than 125 g.

(B) Exceptions:

(a) multi-twisted (twisted) or single-twisted yarn, unbleached, in brushes or rolls;

(b) multi-rotated or single-rotated yarn, packaged:

(i) in the brushes or rolls of the cross winding; or

(ii) wound on carriers or in any other manner indicative of its use in the textile industry (for example, in cobs, on torsion cartridges and spools, in conical reels or on spindles or in the form of cocoons for embroidery machines).