).
2 THAT QUESTION AROSE IN THE COURSE OF PROCEEDINGS BETWEEN GEBRUDER GLUNZ , THE PLAINTIFF IN THE MAIN PROCEEDINGS , AND THE GERMAN CUSTOMS AUTHORITY CONCERNING THE CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION AND THE AMOUNT OF CUSTOMS DUTY TO BE CHARGED ON THE IMPORTATION IN AUGUST 1978 OF A CONSIGNMENT OF SMALL CERAMIC FIGURES THE FOREARMS OF WHICH HAD THE SHAPE OF A CANDLESTICK . THE PLAINTIFF IN THE MAIN PROCEEDINGS DECLARED THOSE FIGURES AS COMING UNDER TARIFF HEADING 97.05 OF THE COMMON CUSTOMS TARIFF WHICH INCLUDES ' ' CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATIONS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES FOR CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES ' ' AND ATTRACTS AN AD VALOREM DUTY OF 10% .
3 ALTHOUGH THE COMPETENT AUTHORITIES ACCEPTED THAT CLASSIFICATION INITIALLY , THEY LATER REVIEWED THE POSITION AND DECIDED THAT THE GOODS CAME UNDER TARIFF SUBHEADING 69.13 B COMPRISING ' ' PORCELAIN STATUETTES ' ' . GOODS FALLING WITHIN THAT SUBHEADING ATTRACT AN AD VALOREM DUTY OF 11% BUT A SPECIFIC MINIMUM DUTY APPLIES , EQUIVALENT AT THE TIME TO 70 UNITS OF ACCOUNT PER 100 KG GROSS . THE CUSTOMS AUTHORITY APPLIED THAT SPECIFIC DUTY AND CALCULATED THE AMOUNT IN GERMAN MARKS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AFORESAID GENERAL RULE C.3 , WHICH INCREASED THE CUSTOMS DUTY TO DM 72 045.49 .
4 THAT PROVISION , IN ITS 1968 VERSION , PROVIDES :
' ' THE UNIT OF ACCOUNT ( U.A .) BY REFERENCE TO WHICH CERTAIN SPECIFIC CUSTOMS DUTIES ARE EXPRESSED OR THE SCOPE OF CERTAIN HEADINGS OR SUBHEADINGS IS DEFINED HAS A VALUE OF 0.88867088 GRAMS OF FINE GOLD . THE EXCHANGE RATE TO BE USED IN CONVERTING THE UNIT OF ACCOUNT INTO BELGIAN FRANCS , DUTCH GUILDERS , FRENCH FRANCS , GERMAN MARKS , ITALIAN LIRE OR LUXEMBOURG FRANCS SHALL BE THAT CORRESPONDING TO THE PAR VALUE COMMUNICATED TO AND RECOGNIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND IN RESPECT OF THESE CURRENCIES . ' '
5 THE PLAINTIFF IN THE MAIN PROCEEDINGS DISPUTED THAT CHARGE AND BROUGHT PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE FINANZGERICHT HAMBURG . IN ITS MAIN HEAD OF CLAIM IT CONTESTED THE CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION WHICH HAD BEEN DECIDED UPON . IN THE ALTERNATIVE , IT CLAIMED THAT , IF IT WAS CORRECT TO APPLY TO IT THE SPECIFIC DUTY PRESCRIBED IN SUBHEADING 69.13 B , THE SUM EXPRESSED IN UNITS OF ACCOUNT COULD NOT BE CONVERTED PURSUANT TO GENERAL RULE C.3 SET OUT ABOVE BUT THAT THE DUTY OUGHT TO BE CALCULATED IN SUCH A WAY THAT , REGARD BEING HAD TO THE PAR VALUES OF THE CURRENCIES OF THE VARIOUS MEMBER STATES , THE AMOUNT PAYABLE BY IT IN GERMANY WOULD NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT WHICH IT WOULD HAVE HAD TO PAY IF IT HAD LANDED THE GOODS AND ENTERED THEM FOR CUSTOMS CLEARANCE IN A PORT OF A MEMBER STATE HAVING A WEAK CURRENCY . IT TAKES THE VIEW THAT GENERAL RULE C.3 SHOULD BE INTERPRETED IN THAT WAY BECAUSE OTHERWISE ITS APPLICATION WOULD ENTAIL DIFFERING RATES OF DUTY DEPENDING UPON THE COUNTRY OF IMPORTATION AND THE RULE WOULD THEREFORE BE