Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (Text with EEA relevance) (c. 87)

Article 12 Transfer, surrender and cancellation of allowances

1. Member States shall ensure that allowances can be transferred between:

(a) persons within the Community;

(b) persons within the Community and persons in third countries, where such allowances are recognised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25 without restrictions other than those contained in, or adopted pursuant to, this Directive.

2. Member States shall ensure that allowances issued by a competent authority of another Member State are recognised for the purpose of meeting an operator's obligations under paragraph 3.

3. Member States shall ensure that, by 30 April each year at the latest, the operator of each installation surrenders a number of allowances equal to the total emissions from that installation during the preceding calendar year as verified in accordance with Article 15, and that these are subsequently cancelled.

4. Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure that allowances will be cancelled at any time at the request of the person holding them.