Import of defence-related products
Last update
The import of defence-related products is either prohibited, or subject to a prior ministerial authorisation, or not restricted at all if certain conditions are met. The type of restriction is dependent on the concerned category of defence-related products.
Restrictive measures (either a prohibition, or a prior authorisation) have been put in place for imports from certain countries.
Any application for authorisation shall be submitted to OCEIT by using the application form made available. The application will be processed within 60 working days from the day the file is complete. The individual authorisation is valid for 1 year, the global authorisation is valid for 3 years, renewable.
Who is concerned
- Any importer who wishes to import a defence-related product must have an authorisation.
Exemption: No ministerial authorisation shall be required for the purposes of passing through the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Prohibition: Shall be prohibited the import by a recipient located in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg originating from a third State to the European Union of environmental modification techniques used for military or other hostile purposes and having widespread, long-term or severe effects as a means of causing destruction, damage or injury to any State, such as defined by the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, adopted on 10 December 1976.
- Any importer who wishes to import a defence-related product from a country in respect of which restrictive measures are in place:
Prerequisites
Preliminary steps
In order to be able to submit the application electronically, the exporter must first make an express request (on free paper or by email) to OCEIT and get their approval.
To be a recipient of defence-related products, the importer established in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg must be certified.
Exception: The recipient undertakings considered as a 'contracting authority' within the meaning of Article 6 of the Public Procurement Law of 3 July 2018 and which make purchases for the sole purpose of use by the armed forces of a Member State are authorized to receive defence-related products, under the general transfer authorisation, without being certified.
The certification establishes the reliability of a recipient undertaking, in particular with respect to its ability to comply with export restrictions for defence-related products received under a transfer authorisation from another Member State.
The reliability of the recipient company is assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
- proven experience in defence activities, taking into account the undertaking’s record of compliance with export restrictions, any court decisions on this matter, any authorisation to produce or commercialise defence-related products and the employment of experienced management staff;
- relevant industrial activity in defence-related products within the European Union, in particular the capacity for system or subsystem integration;
- the appointment of a senior executive, member of the management body of the company, as the dedicated officer personally responsible for transfers and exports. This member is personally responsible for the internal compliance program or the transfer and export management system implemented in the undertaking, and the export and transfer control staff;
- a written commitment of the undertaking, signed by the administrator, that the undertaking will take all necessary steps to observe and enforce all specific conditions related to the end-use and export of any specific component or product received;
- a written commitment of the undertaking, signed by the administrator, to provide the minister, with due diligence, detailed information in response to requests and inquiries concerning the end-users of the final use of all products exported, transferred or received by the undertaking under a transfer authorisation from another Member State of the European Union; and
- a description, countersigned by the administrator, of the internal compliance program or the transfer and export management system implemented in the undertaking. This description shall provide details of the human, organisational and technical resources allocated to the management of transfers and exports, the chain of responsibility in the undertaking, internal audit procedures, awareness-rising and staff training, physical and technical security measures, traceability of transfers and exports, as well as the modalities of the control exercised by the administrator over the staff of the units responsible for exports and transfers;
- record-keeping of defence-related products received.
The period of validity of the certificate may not exceed 5 years.
The minister responsible for Foreign Trade shall recognize certificates issued by other Member States in accordance with Directive 2009/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 simplifying the terms and conditions of transfers of defence-related products in the Community.
Costs
Neither the application for authorisation nor the issuance of the import authorisation by OCEIT shall give rise to the levying of any taxes or fees.
How to proceed
Submitting the application
Importers must submit their application for an individual or global authorisation to OCEIT using the application form.
The application is made by mail or electronically (if the importer has previously obtained OCEIT’s approval).
The application (or the declaration) shall be signed by a person authorised to commit the applicant. By this signature, the applicant certifies the accuracy of the information provided in the application and that of the content of any documents attached to it. He/she undertakes as well to provide the goods concerned with a destination in accordance with his/her application.
Supporting documents
The supporting documents to be attached to the application for an individual or global authorisation are the following:
- detailed explanatory letter of the operation;
- invoice / pro forma invoice;
- sales agreement;
- Air Way Bill (AWB);
- international import certificate (if such a document has been issued at the request of the exporting third country);
- export authorisation by the originating country;
- recent extract from RCS (less than 3 months).
Deadlines for reply
Any application for an individual or global authorisation shall be acknowledged by OCEIT.
In case of an incomplete application, the applicant shall be informed of the need to provide additional documents and any consequences for the period for processing the application.
The application for authorisation shall be processed within 60 working days of the day on which the file is complete.
This 60 day period may be extended for a maximum of 30 working days. The extension and its duration shall be duly reasoned and notified by OCEIT before the expiry of the initial period.
In the absence of a reply within the period provided for, the application for authorisation shall be considered as granted.
Duration of validity
Authorisations shall be valid:
- 1 year for individual authorisations, renewable for a period of 6 months;
- 3 years for global authorisations, renewable for a period of 18 months.
Obligations
The importer shall transmit to OCEIT, at the latest 10 working days after the expiry date, the obsolete authorisation which is in their possession.
The importer shall report to OCEIT any loss of an authorisation document.
The importer must comply with the special conditions contained in the authorisation.
The importer shall keep detailed and complete registers of operations carried out pursuant to the authorisation. These registers shall contain the commercial documents, such as invoices, manifests, transport documents or other shipping documents, showing the following information:
- the description of the defence-related products and their references in the Common Military List of the European Union or in the national list;
- the quantity and value of the imported products;
- the dates of import;
- the end-use and end-user of the goods.
The importer shall keep the registers for a period of 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the transaction took place. He/she shall present them to the ministers at their request during that period.
The importer shall provide, without delay, at the first request of the ministers or OCEIT, the elements and documents necessary to verify the conformity of the operation carried out or foreseen.
Litigation
In the event the authorisation is denied, a legal action may be lodged, by an Avocat à la Cour, against the administrative decision within the period of 3 months from the date of the notification of the administrative decision to the concerned person.
Sanctions
A prohibition (limited to 6 months or definite) or another restriction to carry out one or more activities, and/or the suspension for a maximum period of 6 months from the use of a general European Union or national authorisation, or a global authorisation, and/ or a penalty payment (which cannot be higher than EUR 1,250 per day, but cannot exceed EUR 25,000) may be pronounced against anyone who:
- refuses to provide the documents or other information requested of them by the ministers or OCEIT;
- provides the ministers or OCEIT with documents or other information that is found to be incomplete or false;
- impedes the exercise of the powers of the ministers or OCEIT;
- does not follow the orders of the ministers or OCEIT.
May be punished by an imprisonment of 5 to 10 years and/or a fine of EUR 25,000 to EUR 1,000,000, anyone who is exporting defence-related products without having been granted the required authorisation or without respecting the prohibition applicable to the operation;
May be punished by an imprisonment of 8 days to 5 years and/or a fine of EUR 251 to EUR 250,000 (which may be increased to 4 times the amount of the offense where the offense has resulted in a substantial financial gain), anyone who has failed to comply with a restrictive measure applicable in respect of a certain country.
May be punished by an imprisonment of 6 months to 5 years and/or a fine of EUR 7,500 to EUR 75,000, anyone who:
- fails to keep the registers or does not keep them during the period of 10 years (starting with the end of the calendar year during which the operation took place);
- fails to present the registers at the first request of the ministers;
- omits, repeatedly or significantly, to fill in one or more of the mandatory information in the registers;
- provides, in the context of an application for authorisation, information that is false or incomplete;
- does not fulfil the commitments made in the declarations of use and applications for authorisation submitted to the ministers;
- fails to provide information within the time limits and in the manner set out.
Review of the file
The ministers may, at any time, withdraw, suspend for a period not exceeding 90 days or restrict the use of the authorisations they have issued.
Such a review may happen in exceptional circumstances justifying urgent measures, for reasons of protection of the essential security interests of the State, for reasons of public order or national or eternal security, such as transport safety, storage safety, the risk of diversion, the prevention of crime, or for non-compliance with the conditions specified in the authorisation.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
General Directorate for the Promotion of Foreign Trade and Investments (Office for Export, Import and Transit Controls - formerly the Licensing Office)
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Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Office for Export, Import and Transit Control (OCEIT)
- Address:
- Bâtiment "Mansfeld", 9, rue du Palais de Justice L-1841 Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Email address:
- oceit@mae.etat.lu
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Legal references
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Loi modifiée du 27 juin 2018
relative au contrôle des exportations
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Règlement grand-ducal modifié du 14 décembre 2018 relatif au contrôle des exportations
Les modifications de ce règlement sont consultables sur Legilux en cliquant sur le symbole "modifié par" dans la page de publication du règlement grand-ducal du 14 décembre 2018
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Avis officiel
conformément à l'article 22, paragraphe 2, de la loi modifiée du 27 juin 2018 relative au contrôle des exportations
