Import of goods of a strictly civilian nature
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The import of certain goods of a strictly civilian nature 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 goods of a strictly civilian nature.
Restrictive measures (either a prohibition, or a prior authorisation) have as well been put in place for imports to certain countries.
Any application for authorisation shall be submitted to OCEIT using an available application form. 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 good of a strictly civilian nature subject to restrictions.
Any importer who wishes to import a good of a strictly civilian nature 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 importer must first make an express request (on free paper or by email) to OCEIT and get their approval.
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
The importer shall 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. They undertake as well to provide the goods concerned with a destination in accordance with their 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;
- 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 goods and their references in the tariffs nomenclature;
- the quantity and value of the goods;
- 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. They 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 4 months to 5 years and/or a fine of an amount up to the total value of the concerned goods, and/or by the penalties foreseen by Articles 231, 249 to 253 and 263 to 284 of the general customs and excise law, anyone who:
- is importing goods of a strictly civilian nature without having been granted the required authorisation or without respecting the prohibition applicable to the operation;
- is using the authorisation contrary to the applicable conditions of use or validity;
- is moving goods with valid documents;
- is trying to avoid the required declarations.
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 the Economy Office for Export, Import and Transit Control (OCEIT)
- Address:
- Bâtiment "Mansfeld", 9, rue du Palais de Justice L-1841 Luxembourg Luxembourg
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Legal references
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Règlement (CE) n° 2658/87 du Conseil du 23 juillet 1987
relatif à la nomenclature tarifaire et statistique et au tarif douanier commun
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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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