The Dual-Use and Related Goods (Export Control) Regulations 1995

Explanatory Note

(This Note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement certain aspects of Council Regulation (EC) 3381/94 (“the EC Regulation”), which sets up a Community regime for the control of exports of dual-use goods, and related matters. The EC Regulation and these Regulations replace the export controls on such goods that were previously contained in the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, as amended (“the Order”).

2.  The EC Regulation provides that a licence shall be required for the export from the Community of any dual-use goods listed in Annex I to Council Decision No. 94/942/CFSP on the Joint Action adopted by the Council on the basis of article J3 of the Treaty on European Union (“the Decision”) which is linked to the EC Regulation. The list of goods in Annex I is reproduced in Schedule 1 to these Regulations. A licence granted for the export of such goods is valid throughout the Community.

3.  The EC Regulation also provides that a licence is required for the export to another Member State of any dual-use goods listed in Annex IV to the Decision, which is derived from Annex I to the Decision. This list is reproduced in Schedule 2 to these Regulations. When granting licences the Secretary of State and other competent authorities shall take into account the guidelines for granting licences contained in Annex III to the Decision.

4.  Criminal sanctions for the export of such goods without a licence apply by virtue of sections 68 and 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.

5.  Copies of the standards and recommendations referred to in Annex I to the Decision may be obtained from or through the British Standards Institution (BSI) at 3 Linford Wood, Milton Keynes, MK14 6LE, other than the ICAO and TCSEC standards mentioned at entries 5A001,5A002 and 6A008 which may be obtained from the ICAO at 10,000 Sherbrooke Street, Suite 400, Montreal, Canada H3A 2RZ, and the TCSEC Technical Guidelines Division, National Computer Center, FT George G Meade, MD 20755-6000, USA respectively.

6.  In addition, the EC Regulation provides that Member States may prohibit without a licence the export from their territory of dual-use goods not listed in Annex I to the Decision; individual Member States may also prohibit the export to another Member State of certain dual-use goods as indicated in Annex V to the Decision. The goods which are subject to such control from the United Kingdom are set out in Schedules 3 and 4 respectively to these Regulations. Goods whose export from the United Kingdom are prohibited may be liable to forfeiture and sections 138, 145-148 and 150-155 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 are applied.

7.  By way of assistance to the reader and for convenience only, certain defined terms in Schedules 1 and 3 have been highlighted in quotation marks. An Index to Schedules 1 and 3 and certain cross-references have been included. These should not be treated as comprehensive.

8.  The EC Regulation and these Regulations contain provisions requiring a licence where goods are to be exported for purposes connected with chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and missiles capable of delivering such weapons. These provisions are contained in Articles 4(1) and (2) of the EC Regulation and regulation 3(2)(a)(iii) and (iv) of these Regulations. Together they replace the provisions of Part II of Schedule 1 to the Order, which is revoked.

9.  The Regulations also:

(a) provide that the Secretary of State may grant licences and Community Licences under or for the purposes of the EC Regulation in the United Kingdom and give notice for the purposes of Article 4 of the EC Regulation;

(b) provide that in certain circumstances the export of goods may not be permitted, notwithstanding that a Community Licence has been granted in respect of them in another Member State, where the Secretary of State considers that the export would be contrary to the essential foreign policy or security interests or the fulfilment of the international obligations or commitments of the United Kingdom: and that, in pursuance of Article 10.3 of the EC Regulation, goods for which a Community Licence has been granted may in certain circumstances be detained by the proper officer of Customs and Excise for a period of ten working days;

(c) set out control measures, in relation to any licence issued by the Secretary of State and any Community Licence capable of use in the United Kingdom, and for exports to other Member States, regarding

1. the making of misleading licence applications;

2. failure to comply with licence conditions;

3. registration;

4. record-keeping.

10.  The requirement to register with the DTI before, or soon after, exporting under an Open General Export Licence and to keep certain records for a specified period for inspection purposes has been extended to exporting under any licence under these Regulations: it also applies in respect of exports of any goods on Schedule 1 to another Member State. Records relating to applications for licences may also be inspected. In addition, Article 19(1)(a) of the EC Regulation requires goods on Schedule 1, when exported to another Member State, to be accompanied by commercial documentation which indicates clearly that the goods are subject to control if exported from the European Community.

11.  The Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, as amended, remains in force insofar as it applies to the export of certain military and non-industrial goods, subject to certain further consequential amendments made by these Regulations. The goods whose export is now controlled by the EC Regulation and these Regulations are largely unchanged from those previously controlled in Groups 2 and 3 in Part III of Schedule 1 to the Order, subject to the following:—

(a) the said Group 2 has been re-arranged and clarified, becoming Category 0 in Annex I to the Decision; and

(b) export control is introduced on certain separation equipment included in entries 0B001 and 0B002.

12.  These Regulations do not affect any prohibition or restriction on the exportation of goods save as specified in these Regulations or the EC Regulation. There are a number of other such prohibitions and restrictions, particulars of which can be obtained on application to the Export Control Organisation, DTI, Kingsgate House, 66–74 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6SW.