30.10.2004 Official Journal of the European Union 1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1810/2004 of 7 September 2004 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 ('), and in particular Articles 9 and 12 thereof, Whereas: 1 Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 established a goods nomen- clature, hereinafter called the ‘Combined Nomenclature’, to meet, at one and the same time, the requirements of the Common Customs Tariff, the external trade statistics of the Community and other Community policies concerning the importation or exportation of goods. The Combined Nomenclature is reproduced in Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, together with the autono- mous and the conventional duty rates and the statistical supplementary units. It is appropriate to modernise and to simplify Annex I as envisaged by the SLIM initiative (simpler legislation for the internal market). It is necessary to amend the Combined Nomenclature to take account of: (i) changes in requirements relating to statistics and to commercial policy; () (6) (ii) technological or commercial developments; (iti) the need for alignment or clarification of texts. In accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, the Commission is to adopt a regulation which reproduces the complete version of the Combined Nomen- clature, together with the autonomous and conventional rates of duty, resulting from measures adopted by the Coun- cil or by the Commission. Such a regulation is to be pub- lished not later than 31 October in the Official Journal of the European Union, to apply from 1 January of the following year. The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accord- ance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 is hereby replaced by the Annex to this Regulation. Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2005. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 7 September 2004. () OJL 256,7.9.1987, p. 1, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 15582004 (OJ L 283, 2.9.2004, p. 7). For the Commission Frederik BOLKESTEIN Member of the Commission