INVOLVED IN ESTABLISHING THE EXISTENCE OF THE OTHER ELEMENTS DESCRIBED IN THE NOTES CONCERNING HEADING 84.12 .
16 THE REPLY TO THE FIRST QUESTION SHOULD THEREFORE BE THAT HEADING 84.12 OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF APPLIES ONLY TO MACHINES WHICH INCLUDE ELEMENTS DESIGNED BOTH TO ALTER THE SURROUNDING TEMPERATURE IN A GIVEN SPACE AND TO REGULATE THE DEGREE OF HUMIDITY OF THE AIR IN THAT SPACE , OR WHICH ARE AT LEAST INTENDED AND MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO ADJUST THE LEVEL OF HUMIDITY WHICH IS MERELY THE AUTOMATIC RESULT OF THE TEMPERATURE SELECTED . IT DOES NOT APPLY TO MACHINES MADE SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF CHANGING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SURROUNDING ATMOSPHERE , WHERE THE DEGREE OF HUMIDITY OF THAT ATMOSPHERE CHANGES ONLY AS AN AUTOMATIC RESULT , WHICH CAN NEITHER BE REGULATED NOR ADJUSTED , OF THE TEMPERATURE .
QUESTIONS 2 AND 3
17 THE SECOND QUESTION HAS BEEN PUT BY THE NATIONAL COURT ONLY IN CASE THE FIRST QUESTION SHOULD BE ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE . THERE IS ACCORDINGLY NO NEED TO ANSWER IT . HOWEVER , IN CASE THE FIRST QUESTION SHOULD BE ANSWERED IN THE NEGATIVE , THE COURT IS ASKED HOW THE TERM ' ' HUMIDITY ' ' IN HEADING 84.12 SHOULD BE INTERPRETED , AND IN PARTICULAR WHETHER IT IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD AS MEANING ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY OR RELATIVE HUMIDITY .
18 ACCORDING TO THE EVIDENCE SUBMITTED TO THE COURT ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY IS THE QUANTITY OF WATER VAPOUR ACTUALLY PRESENT PER UNIT OF VOLUME OF THE SURROUNDING ATMOSPHERE AT A GIVEN MOMENT , WHEREAS RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS THE RATIO BETWEEN THAT ACTUAL QUANTITY AND THE MAXIMUM QUANTITY OF WATER VAPOUR WHICH THAT ATMOSPHERE IS CAPABLE OF HOLDING , THE ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY BEING THE NUMERATOR , AND THE MAXIMUM QUANTITY THE DENOMINATOR , OF THAT FRACTION .
19 IT WOULD APPEAR FROM THIS EXPLANATION THAT THE TERM ' ' RELATIVE HUMIDITY ' ' REFERRED TO BY THE NATIONAL COURT CORRESPONDS TO THAT OF THE DEGREE OF HUMIDITY . THAT BEING SO , THE EXPRESSION ' ' FOR CHANGING THE TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY OF AIR ' ' IN HEADING 84.12 MEANS CHANGING THE RELATIVE HUMIDITY .
Decision on costs
COSTS
20 THE COSTS INCURRED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES WHICH HAS SUBMITTED OBSERVATIONS TO THE COURT ARE NOT RECOVERABLE . AS THE PROCEEDINGS ARE , IN SO FAR AS THE PARTIES TO THE MAIN ACTION ARE CONCERNED , IN THE NATURE OF A STEP IN THE PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE NATIONAL COURT , THE DECISION AS TO COSTS IS A MATTER FOR THAT COURT .
Operative part
ON THOSE GROUNDS ,
THE COURT ( FIRST CHAMBER )
IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS REFERRED TO IT BY THE TARIEFCOMMISSIE , AMSTERDAM , BY A JUDGMENT OF 12 DECEMBER 1978 , RECEIVED AT THE COURT ON 22 JANUARY 1979 , HEREBY RULES :
1 . HEADING 84.12 OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF APPLIES ONLY TO MACHINES WHICH INCLUDE ELEMENTS DESIGNED BOTH TO ALTER THE SURROUNDING TEMPERATURE