LABORATORY AND TRAINING COLLEGE ), COLOGNE , FOUND HOWEVER THAT THE SEASONING WAS PERCEPTIBLE NEITHER ORGANOLEPTICALLY NOR OPTICALLY AND THAT THE PARTICLES OF SEASONING WERE IDENTIFIABLE ONLY MICROSCOPICALLY .
4 THE FINANZGERICHT DUSSELDORF , BEFORE WHICH THE CASE CAME , CONSIDERED THAT THE INTERPRETATION OF THE CONCEPT ' ' OTHER PREPARED . . . MEAT ' ' WITHIN THE MEANING OF HEADING 16.02 OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF WAS NOT FREE FROM DOUBT AND THEREFORE REFERRED THE TWO FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO THE COURT OF JUSTICE FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING :
' ' 1 . IS HEADING 16.02 OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF TO BE INTERPRETED IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT ALSO INCLUDES MEAT TO WHICH , ACCORDING TO THE METHOD OF PREPARATION NOTIFIED , SALT AND PEPPER HAVE BEEN ADDED BUT IN WHICH THE PRESENCE OF PEPPER MAY ONLY BE IDENTIFIED MICROSCOPICALLY OR MAY MEAT BE REGARDED AS BEING ' OTHER PREPARED . . . MEAT ' ONLY IF THE SEASONING ADDED MAY BE PERCEIVED BY THE SENSE OF TASTE?
IF THE COURT ANSWERS THE SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION IN THE AFFIRMATIVE :
2.ACCORDING TO WHICH CRITERIA IS THE EXISTENCE OF THE TASTE TO BE ASCERTAINED?
' '
5 IT APPEARS FROM THE EXPLANATORY NOTES TO CHAPTER 16 OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF THAT MEAT PREPARED OR PRESERVED OTHERWISE THAN AS PROVIDED FOR IN CHAPTER 02 FALLS TO BE CLASSIFIED UNDER HEADING 16.02 .
6 CHAPTER 02 COMPRISES POULTRYMEAT WHICH HAS UNDERGONE A PRESERVING PROCESS . THUS THAT CHAPTER REFERS TO FROZEN , CHILLED OR SALTED MEAT OR MEAT IN BRINE AND DRIED OR SMOKED MEAT . SEASONING WHICH IS NOT INTENDED AS A PRESERVATIVE OF MEAT DOES NOT APPEAR AMONG THOSE PROCESSES .
7 THE EXPLANATORY NOTES OF THE CUSTOMS COOPERATION COUNCIL RELATING TO HEADING 16.02 CONFIRM THAT MEAT SEASONED FOR EXAMPLE BY PEPPER AND SALT FALLS WITHIN HEADING 16.02 AND NOT WITHIN CHAPTER 02 .
8 THE COMMISSION CLAIMED IN THE OBSERVATIONS WHICH IT SUBMITTED TO THE COURT THAT ONLY AN ORGANOLEPTICALLY PERCEPTIBLE SEASONING COULD ENABLE MEAT TO WHICH SALT AND PEPPER HAS BEEN ADDED TO BE REGARDED AS ' ' OTHER PREPARED . . . MEAT ' ' WITHIN THE MEANING OF HEADING 16.02 . IN FACT THERE IS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEASONING AND TASTE SINCE SEASONING IMPLIES THE ADDITION TO FOODSTUFFS OF SPICES INTENDED TO BRING OUT THEIR TASTE .
9 THAT ARGUMENT CANNOT BE ACCEPTED . TO HAVE RECOURSE TO A CRITERION AS SUBJECTIVE AS TASTE WOULD HAVE THE EFFECT OF JEOPARDIZING THE UNIFORM APPLICATION OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY . THE FACT THAT SEASONING IS INTENDED TO AFFECT THE TASTE OF MEAT DOES NOT PRECLUDE THE USE , IF NEED BE , OF THE USUAL METHODS OF CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION SUCH AS LABORATORY ANALYSIS .
10 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COURT ' S WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW , IT SHOULD BE RECALLED THAT THE DECISIVE CRITERION FOR THE CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION OF GOODS UNDER THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF MUST GENERALLY SPEAKING BE