NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS TO THE EXCHANGE RATES , IN PARTICULAR AS REGARDS SPECIFIC DUTIES .
9 IN ORDER TO REPLY TO THE QUESTION RAISED IT IS FIRST NECESSARY TO RECALL THAT THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF WAS INITIALLY ADOPTED BY REGULATION NO 950/68 OF THE COUNCIL OF 28 JUNE 1968 . THE PREAMBLE TO THAT REGULATION STATED THAT , PURSUANT TO THE COUNCIL DECISION OF 26 JULY 1966 ( JOURNAL OFFICIEL 1966 , 165 , P . 2971 ), THE MEMBER STATES WERE TO APPLY THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF FROM 1 JULY 1968 TO IMPORTS FROM NON-MEMBER COUNTRIES OF GOODS OTHER THAN THOSE SPECIFIED IN ANNEX II TO THE TREATY .
10 THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF INCLUDES AD VALOREM DUTIES AND SPECIFIC OR MINIMUM CUSTOMS DUTIES CHARGEABLE UNDER CERTAIN HEADINGS OR SUBHEADING . AS REGARDS AD VALOREM CUSTOMS DUTIES , REGULATION ( EEC ) NO 803/68 OF THE COUNCIL OF 27 JUNE 1968 ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL , ENGLISH SPECIAL EDITION 1968 ( I ), P . 170 ) ESTABLISHED RULES FOR THE VALUATION OF GOODS FOR CUSTOMS PURPOSES IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE VALUE FOR CUSTOMS PURPOSES IS DETERMINED IN A UNIFORM MANNER IN MEMBER STATES SO THAT THE LEVEL OF PROTECTION GIVEN BY THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF IS THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY AND ANY DEFLECTION OF TRADE AND ACTIVITIES AND ANY DISTORTION OF COMPETITION WHICH MIGHT ARISE FROM DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NATIONAL PROVISIONS IS THEREBY PREVENTED , AND THAT EQUAL TREATMENT OF IMPORTERS AS REGARDS THE COLLECTION OF COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF DUTIES IS ENSURED . SPECIFIC DUTIES ARE EXPRESSED IN UNITS OF ACCOUNT . GENERAL RULE C.3 STATES THAT THE EXCHANGE RATES TO BE USED IN CONVERTING THE UNIT OF ACCOUNT INTO NATIONAL CURRENCIES SHALL BE THOSE CORRESPONDING TO THE PAR VALUE COMMUNICATED TO THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND IN RESPECT OF THESE CURRENCIES . REGULATION NO 950/68 WAS ADOPTED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SYSTEM OF FIXED PARITIES IN FORCE AT THAT TIME , SO THAT GENERAL RULE C.3 WAS INTENDED TO ENSURE THE UNIFORM APPLICATION OF SPECIFIC CUSTOMS DUTIES IN ALL MEMBER STATES AND FOR SEVERAL YEARS IT DID INDEED HAVE SUCH AN EFFECT . OVER THE YEARS THAT REGULATION HAS HAD TO BE SUPPLEMENTED AND ADAPTED BY A SERIES OF SUBSEQUENT REGULATIONS BUT GENERAL RULE C.3 HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED .
11 HOWEVER , FROM 1971 THE SYSTEM OF FIXED PARITIES BASED ON REFERENCE TO GOLD CEASED TO BE WHOLLY WORKABLE . SUBSEQUENT MONETARY DEVELOPMENTS LED TO APPRECIABLE ALTERATIONS IN THE ACTUAL EXCHANGE RATES COMPARED TO THE OFFICIAL PARITIES IN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MEMBER STATES . AS A RESULT , THE UNIT OF ACCOUNT USED IN THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF BEGAN TO RELATE LESS AND LESS TO ECONOMIC REALITY . IT WAS , HOWEVER , NOT UNTIL 1974 THAT MONETARY DEVELOPMENTS PRODUCED APPRECIABLE AND CLEARLY DISCERNIBLE INEQUALITIES IN THE APPLICATION OF CUSTOMS REGULATIONS .
12 IN DECEMBER 1971 CENTRAL RATES TOGETHER WITH NEW POINTS OF REFERENCE WERE FIXED IN WASHINGTON BY THE SMITHSONIAN AGREEMENT . BUT AS A