A CHECK IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE EXIGENCIES OF THE EFFICIENT ACCOMPLISHMENT OF CUSTOMS IMPORT FORMALITIES AND MOREOVER WOULD BE PROHIBITED AS CAUSING PRODUCTS HAVING THE SAME OBJECTIVE PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS TO BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY ACCORDING TO WHETHER OR NOT THOSE PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS WERE THE RESULT OF A SPECIFIC PROCESS .
7 THE FIRST QUESTION MUST THEREFORE BE ANSWERED TO THE EFFECT THAT OAT GRAINS WHOSE TIPS HAVE BEEN BROKEN OFF MUST BE CLASSIFIED UNDER SUBHEADING 11.02 B I ( A ) 2 ( AA ) OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF .
8 IN THE SECOND QUESTION THE COURT IS ASKED TO INDICATE THE CRITERIA UPON WHICH MUST BE BASED THE CLASSIFICATION OF A CONSIGNMENT OF OATS COMPOSED PARTLY OF CLIPPED AND PARTLY OF UNCLIPPED GRAINS AND TO STATE WHETHER THE PRESENCE OF BROKEN-OFF TIPS IN THE CONSIGNMENT HAS ANY EFFECT ON CLASSIFICATION .
9 CLIPPED GRAINS AS SUCH FALL WITHIN SUBHEADING 11.02 B I ( A ) 2 ( AA ) OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF ; UNCLIPPED GRAINS FALL WITHIN HEADING 10.04 . RECOURSE MUST THEREFORE BE HAD TO GENERAL RULE NO 3 ( B ) FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF , CONCERNING MIXTURES , ACCORDING TO WHICH SUCH PRODUCTS ARE TO BE ' ' CLASSIFIED . . . AS IF THEY CONSISTED OF THE MATERIAL . . . WHICH GIVES THE GOODS THEIR ESSENTIAL CHARACTER ' ' . IT MAY REASONABLY BE CONSIDERED THAT CLIPPED OATS GIVE A MIXED CONSIGNMENT ITS ESSENTIAL CHARACTER WHERE THE CLIPPED GRAINS EXCEED 50 % BY WEIGHT OF THE TOTAL CONSIGNMENT .
10 HOWEVER , THE FACT THAT THE BROKEN-OFF TIPS REMAIN WITHIN THE CONSIGNMENT DEPRIVES IT OF ITS CHARACTER OF A MIXTURE SINCE IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES THE CLIPPED GRAINS CAN NO LONGER BE REGARDED AS ' ' CLIPPED OATS ' ' WITHIN THE MEANING OF SUBHEADING 11.02 B I ( A ) 2 ( AA ) OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF .
11 IN FACT , AS IS APPARENT FROM PARAGRAPH ( 7 ) OF THE EXPLANATORY NOTE TO HEADING 11.02 IN THE CUSTOMS COOPERATION COUNCIL NOMENCLATURE , ' ' CLIPPED GRAIN ( PRINCIPALLY OATS ) ' ' IS ' ' GRAIN WHICH HAS BEEN CLIPPED TO FACILITATE INGESTION BY LIVESTOCK ' ' . THAT DEFINITION NECESSARILY PRESUPPOSES THAT THE BROKEN-OFF TIPS HAVE BEEN SEPARATED FROM THE CLIPPED GRAINS . IF THAT WERE NOT THE CASE , THE HIGHER NUTRITIONAL VALUE OBTAINED BY CLIPPING , WHICH IS THE PROPERTY DISTINGUISHING CLIPPED OATS FROM UNCLIPPED OATS , WOULD BE ELIMINATED .
12 A CONSIGNMENT OF OATS CONTAINING THE BROKEN-OFF TIPS MAY NOT BE MARKETED AS ' ' CLIPPED GRAIN ' ' FOR USE AS ANIMAL FEED UNTIL IT HAS UNDERGONE A PROCESS FOR THE REMOVAL OF THOSE TIPS . IT IS THEREFORE NEITHER REALISTIC NOR COMMERCIALLY PRACTICAL TO CLASSIFY SUCH A CONSIGNMENT IN SUBHEADING 11.02 B I ( A ) 2 ( AA ) OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF IF THAT PROCESS HAS NOT BEEN