This Regulation establishes a Union system for supply chain due diligence (‘Union system’) in order to curtail opportunities for armed groups and security forces to trade in tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold. This Regulation is designed to provide transparency and certainty as regards the supply practices of Union importers, and of smelters and refiners sourcing from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.

This Regulation lays down the supply chain due diligence obligations of Union importers of minerals or metals containing or consisting of tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold, as set out in Annex I.

This Regulation shall not apply to Union importers of minerals or metals where their annual import volume of each of the minerals or metals concerned is below the volume thresholds set out in Annex I.

All volume thresholds are set at a level that ensures that the vast majority, but no less than 95 %, of the total volumes imported into the Union of each mineral and metal under the Combined Nomenclature code is subject to the obligations of Union importers set out in this Regulation.

The Commission shall adopt a delegated act, in accordance with Articles 18 and 19, if feasible by 1 April 2020 but no later than 1 July 2020, to amend Annex I by establishing the volume thresholds for tantalum or niobium ores and concentrates, gold ores and concentrates, tin oxides and hydroxides, tantalates and carbides of tantalum.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Articles 18 and 19 to amend the existing thresholds listed in Annex I every three years after 1 January 2021.

With the exception of Article 7(4), this Regulation shall not apply to recycled metals.

This Regulation shall not apply to stocks where a Union importer demonstrates that those stocks were created in the current form on a verifiable date prior to 1 February 2013.

This Regulation shall apply to minerals and metals referred to in Annex I that are obtained as by-products as defined in Article 2(t).