BY ADDING TO AN ELECTRONIC MICRO-CIRCUIT OTHER DEVICES OR OTHER MICRO-CIRCUITS OF THE SAME OR DIFFERENT TYPE ' ' SINCE SUCH ASSEMBLIES ARE TO BE CLASSIFIED , WHERE NECESSARY , AS SPARE PARTS OR PIECES UNDER THE HEADING APPROPRIATE TO THE MACHINE OR APPLIANCE IN QUESTION . THOSE EXPLANATIONS SUPPORT THE INTERPRETATION THAT HYBRID AND MONOLITHIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS MAY NOT BE REGARDED AS BASIC UNITS FOR THE FORMATION OF THE MICRO-ASSEMBLIES REFERRED TO IN NOTE 5 ( B ) ( A ).
11 IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO COUNTER THAT INTERPRETATION BY RELYING , AS THE COMMISSION HAS DONE , ON THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF NOTE 5 ( B ) RELATING TO THE PRECEDENCE OF HEADING 85.21 OVER ALL OTHER HEADINGS OF THE NOMENCLATURE WHICH ARE CAPABLE OF COVERING THE ARTICLES IN QUESTION BY REFERENCE , IN PARTICULAR , TO THEIR FUNCTION . THAT PROVISION APPLIES ONLY TO THE ' ' ARTICLES DEFINED IN THIS NOTE ' ' AND THE QUESTION RAISED CONCERNING THE EXPRESSION ' ' DISCRETE COMPONENTS ' ' SEEKS PRECISELY TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER THE ARTICLES IN QUESTION ARE COVERD BY THE DEFINITION CONTAINED IN SUBPARAGRAPH ( A ) OF THAT NOTE .
12 ADMITTEDLY , IT CANNOT BE DENIED THAT THE TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR CONCERNED , AS A RESULT OF WHICH THE USE OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AS BASIC UNITS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN ELECTRONIC MICRO-CIRCUITS HAS BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD , JUSTIFY THE DRAWING UP OF A NEW CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION . HOWEVER , IF THAT IS THE CASE , IT IS FOR THE COMPETENT COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF IT BY AMENDING THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF . FAILING SUCH AN AMENDMENT , THE INTERPRETATION OF THE TARIFF CANNOT BE ADAPTED TO CHANGING PROCESSES .
13 THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION RAISED MUST THEREFORE BE THAT THE EXPRESSION ' ' DISCRETE COMPONENTS ' ' WITHIN THE MEANING OF NOTE 5 ( B ) ( A ) MUST BE INTERPRETED AS DENOTING PHYSICAL UNITS CONSISTING OF A SINGLE ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ELEMENT AND HAVING A SINGLE ELECTRICAL FUNCTION SUCH AS , FOR EXAMPLE , DIODES , TRANSISTORS OR RESISTORS .
THE CONCEPT OF ' ' MINIATURIZATION ' '
14 THE QUESTION RAISED BY THE FINANZGERICHT MUNCHEN SEEKS TO ASCERTAIN , SECONDLY , WHAT THE TERM ' ' MINIATURIZED ' ' WITHIN THE MEANING OF PARAGRAPHS ( A ) AND ( C ) OF NOTE 5 ( B ) IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD AS MEANING .
15 ACCORDING TO THE PLAINTIFF IN THE MAIN ACTION , THE CONCEPT OF MINIATURIZATION IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT EACH COMPONENT UTILIZED MUST ACTUALLY BE AT LEAST TO SOME EXTENT SMALLER THAN THAT NORMALLY MANUFACTURED AT THE TIME IN QUESTION .
16 ACCORDING TO THE COMMISSION , COMPONENTS MANUFACTURED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF SEMI-CONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY OR THOSE WHICH , REGARD BEING HAD TO THE TECHNICAL POSSIBILITIES IN EXISTENCE AT THE TIME OF THEIR MANUFACTURE , HAVE BEEN CONCEIVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TENDENCY TO CONSTRUCT