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"B COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3677/90
of 13 December 1990
laying down measures to be taken to discourage the diversion of certain substances to the illicit
manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
(OJ L 357, 20.12.1990, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Council Regulation (EEC) No 900/92 of 31 March 1992 L 96 1 10.4.1992
"M2 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3769/92 of 21 December 1992 L 383 17 29.12.1992
Corrected by:
"C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 176, 30.6.1992, p. 68 (900/92)1990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 1
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3677/90
of 13 December 1990
laying down measures to be taken to discourage the diversion of certain
substances to the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
and in particular Article 113 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas on 19 December 1988 a Convention against Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was adopted in Vienna,hereinafter referred to as the ‘United Nations Convention’; whereas theUnited Nations Convention is part of the world-wide efforts to combat drugs;
whereas the Community participated in the negotiation of that Convention,
showing its political will to act within the limits of its competences;
Whereas the United Nations Convention contains an Article 12 concerning
trade in precursors, i.e. substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; whereas the implementation ofthis Article represents a contribution by industrialized countries to the effortrequested from drug-producing countries, which are generally much poorer
than the former; whereas the provisions on trade in such precursors affect the
Community rules in customs matters; whereas, on this basis, the UnitedNations Convention was signed on behalf of the Community on 8 June 1989;whereas, on this basis, the Council decided on 22 October 1990 to conclude
the United Nations Convention; whereas it is thus appropriate, in order to
concretize this political will, to lay down Community rules on trade betweenthe Community and third countries;
Whereas the provisions of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention are
based on a system monitoring trade in the substances in question; whereas
most of the trade in these substances is fully legitimate; whereasdocumentation and possible labelling as regards consignments of these
substances have to be sufficiently clear; whereas it is furthermore important,
whilst providing competent authorities with the necessary means of action, todevelop, in compliance with the spirit of the United Nations Convention,mechanisms which are based on close cooperation with the economic
operators concerned as well as on the development of intelligence gathering;
Whereas a system of pre-notification of consignments of certain substances
providing, under certain conditions, for the operations in question to beforbidden, appears most appropriate to the situation; whereas several
countries have already obtained very positive results favouring this approach;
Whereas the competent authorities of Member States should have comparable
means of action; whereas it is indispensable, therefore, to establish commonobjectives in the matter at Community level; whereas this aspect is essential
with the completion of the internal market in prospect and in order to ensure
the homogeneous application of the rules established; whereas it is alsoimportant, in this context, that each Member State provide for sufficiently
dissuasive penalties;
Whereas machinery for administrative cooperation should be provided for
both within the Community and with third countries which are also Parties tothe Convention; whereas it is advisable in this respect, as far as the competent
authorities in the Community are concerned, to take as a basis Council
Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of 19 May 1981 on mutual assistance betweenthe administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation betweenthe latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on
customs or agricultural matters (
1), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No
945/87 (2); whereas particular attention has to be paid to the confidentiality of
information received or exchanged;!B
(1) OJ No L 144, 2. 6. 1981, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 90, 2. 4. 1987, p. 3.1990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 2
Whereas, in the spirit of the United Nations Convention, the Community
should contribute to efforts to combat drug trafficking by producer countries;whereas, in this connection, special machinery should be introduced formonitoring the products listed in Table II of the Annex where they are the
subject of trade with those countries, despite the fact that in general these
products give rise to much lawful trade; whereas the cooperation of thecountries concerned should be sought to ensure better monitoring of suchtrade;
Whereas, in order to examine possible problems concerning the application of
this Regulation and to enhance its implementation and the development of
administrative cooperation in the matter, it is desirable to provide that theCommission should organize specific meetings,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
GENERAL
Article 1
1. This Regulation lays down the measures to be taken to monitor trade
between the Community and third countries in substances frequently used forthe illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for thepurpose of preventing the diversion of such substances.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation:(a) ‘scheduled substance’ means any substance listed in the Annex, including
mixtures containing such substances. This excludes pharmaceutical
preparations or other preparations containing scheduled substances that
are compounded in such a way that such substances cannot be easily usedor recovered by readily applicable means;
(b) ‘import’ means any physical introduction of scheduled substances into
the customs territory of the Community;
(c) ‘export’ means any physical departure of scheduled substances from the
customs territory of the Community which requires a customs exportdeclaration;
(d) ‘transit’ means any transport of scheduled substances between third
countries through the customs territory of the Community and any
transhipment in that territory;
(e) ‘operator’ means any natural or legal person engaged in the manufacture,
production, trade or distribution of scheduled substances in theCommunity or involved in other related activities such as import, export,transit, broking and processing of scheduled substances. This definition
includes, in particular, persons pursuing the activity of making customs
declarations on a self-employed basis, either as their principal occupationor as a secondary activity related to another occupation;
(f) ‘ultimate consignee’ means any natural or legal person to which the
scheduled substances are delivered in the country of destination. This
person may be different from the end-user;
"M1(g)3‘International Narcotics Control Board’ means the Board
established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, asamended by the 1972 Protocol.!B
!M1
!B1990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 3
TITLE II
MONITORING OF TRADE
Article 2
Documentation, records and labelling
The import, export and transit of scheduled substances are subject to the
following requirements:
1. All import, export and transit operations shall be properly documented. In
particular, commercial documents such as invoices, cargo manifests,customs, transport and other shipping documents shall contain sufficientinformation positively to identify:
— the name of the scheduled substance as given in the Annex,
— the quantity and weight of the scheduled substance and, where it
consists of a mixture, the quantity and weight of the mixture as wellas the quantity and weight or the percentage of any substance orsubstances listed in the Annex which are contained in the mixture,
— the name and address of the exporter, the importer, the distributor
and, in accordance with Articles 4, 5 and 5a, the ultimate consignee.
2. Where operators affix labels indicating the type of product or its trade
name to scheduled substances in import, export or transit operations, such
labels must show the names of the substances as given in the Annex.
3. Operators involved in import, export and transit of scheduled substances
shall keep detailed records of those activities.
4. The documents and records referred to in points 1 and 3 shall be kept for
a period of three years from the end of the calendar year in which the
operation referred to in point 1 took place, and must be readily available
for inspection by the competent authorities upon request.
Article 2a
Licensing and registration of operators
1. Operators, other than customs agents, warehouse depositors and trans-
porters when acting solely in that capacity, engaged in the import, export ortransit of scheduled substances listed in Category 1 of the Annex shall be
required to obtain a licence from the Member State in which they are
established to qualify for this activity. In considering whether to grant alicence, the competent authority shall take into account the competence and
integrity of the applicant.
The licence may be suspended or revoked by the competent authorities
whenever there are reasonable grounds for belief that the holder is no longer afit and proper person to hold a licence, or that the conditions under which the
licence was issued are no longer fulfilled.
2. Operators, other than customs agents, warehouse depositors and trans-
porters when acting solely in that capacity, engaged in the import, export ortransit of scheduled substances listed in Category 2 or the export of scheduled
substances listed in Category 3 of the Annex are required to register and
update with the competent authorities the addresses of the premises fromwhich they manufacture or trade in these substances.
However, this requirement shall not apply in respect of operators engaged in
the export of small quantities of scheduled substances listed in Category 3 or
the export of mixtures containing scheduled substances listed in Category 3which have been identified to that end.
3. The Member States shall determine the procedures for issuing licences,
including the attachment of specific conditions, such as the length of their
validity and the charging of fees for their issue.!B
!M1
!B
!M11990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 4
Article 3
Cooperation
The Member States shall take the necessary measures to establish close
cooperation between the competent authorities and operators, so that
operators:
— notify the competent authorities immediately of any circumstances, such
as unusual orders and transactions involving scheduled substances, which
suggest that such substances inteded for import, export or transit may be
diverted for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropicsubstances,
— provide the competent authorities in summary form such information
about their export transactions as the competent authorities may require.
Article 4
Export authorization
Scheduled substances listed in Category 1 of the Annex
1. The exportation of scheduled substances listed in Category 1 of the
Annex shall be subject to authorization in form of individual exportauthorizations issued by the competent authorities of the Member State inwhich the customs export declaration is to be lodged in accordance with the
provisions in force.
2. Applications for authorizations referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain
the following information:
— the name and address of the exporter, the importer in the third country
and any other operator involved in the export operation or shipment, and
also of the ultimate consignee,
— the name of the scheduled substances as given in Category 1 in the
Annex,
— the quantity and weight of the scheduled substance and, where it consists
of a mixture, the quantity and weight of the mixture as well as the
quantity and weight or the percentage of any substance or substanceslisted in the Annex which are contained in the mixture,
— details as to the transport arrangements, and in particular the expected
date of dispatch, method of transport, name of the customs office where
the customs export declaration is to be lodged, and, in so far as suchinformation is available at this stage, identification of the means oftransport, itinerary, expected point of exit from Community customs
territory and the point of entry into the importing country.
In the case of paragraph 10, a copy of the import permit issued by the
destination country must be attached to the application.
3. A decision on the application shall be taken within a period of 15 working
days from the date on which the competent authority considers the file to be
complete. This period shall be extended if, in the case of paragraph 10, theauthorities are obliged to make further enquiries in order to satisfy themselvesthat the importation of the substances has been properly authorized.
4. Without prejudice to any possible implementation of technical enforce-
ment measures, the export authorization referred to in paragraph 1 shall berefused, if:
(a) there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the information supplied in
compliance with the obligations under paragraph 2 is false or incorrect;
(b) in the case of paragraph 10, it is established that the importation of the
scheduled substances has not been properly authorized by the competentauthorities of the country of destination;
(c) there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the substances in
question are intended for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or
psychotropic substances.!M11990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 5
5. If the particulars on the itinerary and means of transport were not
contained in the application referred to in paragraph 2, the exportauthorization shall state that the operator must furnish these particulars tothe customs or other competent authority at the point of exit from the
Community customs territory before the physical departure of the
consignment. In this case, the export authorization shall be annotatedaccordingly at the time of issue.
6. In all cases, the export authorization shall be produced for inspection by
the customs authorities when the customs export declaration is lodged.
A copy of this authorization shall furthermore accompany the consignment
until the customs office at the point of exit of the scheduled substances from
the Community customs territory. This office shall insert, where appropriate,
the particulars referred to in paragraph 5 and any other necessary particularsand apply its stamp to the copy of the authorization before returning it to theissuing authority.
7. The issue of an export authorization does not preclude any possible
administrative or other liability of the holder of such authorization.
8. The export authorization may be suspended or revoked by the competent
authorities whenever there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the
substances might be diverted to the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs orpsychotropic substances.
9. With regard to requests for pre-export notification addressed to the
Community by a third country pursuant to Article 12 (10) of the United
Nations Convention:
(a) the Commission shall immediately communicate to the competent
authorities of the Member States any such request received;
(b) the competent authorities of the Member State concerned shall, prior to
any export of scheduled substances to the requesting country, supply theinformation specified in paragraph 2 to the competent authorities of thatcountry. A copy of this reply shall be communicated to the Commission
for circulation to the other Member States;
(c) the authority furnishing such information shall require that the authority
in the third country receiving the information shall keep confidential any
trade, business, commercial or professional secret or any trade processreferred to therein.
10. Whenever there is agreement between the Community and a third country
that exports shall not be authorized unless an import permit has been issued
by the competent authorities of the latter country for the substances in
question:
(a) the Commission shall communicate to the competent authorities in the
Member States the name and address of the competent authority in thethird country together with any operational information obtained from
this country;
(b) the competent authorities in the Member States shall satisfy themselves
that any importation has been properly authorized, if necessary, by
requesting confirmation from the authority referred to under point (a).
Article 5
Specific export requirements
Scheduled substances listed in Category 2 of the Annex
1. The exportation of scheduled substances listed in Category 2 of the
Annex shall be subject to an authorization issued in accordance withparagraphs 2 and 3 by the competent authorities of the Member State in whichthe customs export declaration is to be lodged in accordance with the
provisions in force.
2. Exports referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject mutatis mutandis to the
provisions of Article 4, wherever they appear to be intended, directly or
indirectly, for any third country which has been identified to be concerned bythe illicit manufacture of those narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances by
the use of the scheduled substances in question. The said identification shall
be based, in particular, on a reasoned request to the Commission by the thirdcountry concerned.!M11990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 6
The provisions of Article 4 shall also apply whenever an open individual
authorization cannot be issued under paragraph 3.
3. In all other cases, the exportation of scheduled substances listed in
Category 2 may be authorized at the request of the operators concerned on aglobal basis by the issue of an open individual authorization. The decision toissue such an authorization shall take into account the competence and
integrity of the applicant together with the nature, volume and pattern of his
involvement in these substances. In such cases, the holder shall enter thedetails of this authorization in the relevant customs export declaration.
In accordance with the provisions laid down by the competent authorities, the
holder of such an authorization shall furnish information in a summary form
about exports made under the authority of the authorization.
The open individual authorization may be suspended or revoked whenever
there are reasonable grounds for belief that its holder is not longer a fit and
proper person to hold an authorization, or that the conditions under which theauthorization was issued are no longer valid.
Article 5a
Specific export requirements
Scheduled substances listed in Category 3 of the Annex
1. Wherever the export of scheduled substances listed in Category 3 of the
Annex is intended, directly or indirectly, for any third country:
(a) with which the Community has concluded an agreement whereby no
export from the Community to that country shall be authorized unless the
competent authorities of the country have issued an import permit inrespect of the consignment in question; or
(b) which has been identified as a country concerned by the illicit
manufacture of heroin or cocaine on its territory or as a sensitive
country as regards the possible diversion of the said substances,
such export shall be subject to an authorization issued in accordance with
paragraphs 2 and 3 by the competent authorities of the Member State in which
the customs export declaration is to be lodged in accordance with theprovisions in force.
2. Exports of substances referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject mutatis
mutandis to the provisions of Article 4, wherever, subject to specific
arrangements taken between the Community and the countries referred to in
paragraph 1, individual export authorization is required. The provisions ofArticle 4 shall also apply whenever an open individual authorization cannotbe issued in accordance with paragraph 3.
3. In appropriate circumstances, the exportation of substances in Category 3
may be authorized on a global basis by the issue of an open individual
authorization. The decision to issue, suspend or revoke such authorizations
shall be taken by the application mutatis mutandis of Article 5 (3).
In addition, it shall be a condition of the issue of such authorizations that, for
control purposes, the holder shall retain for inspection by the competentauthorities of the Member State from which the export has taken place, whereappropriate and in respect of each export, a copy of the import permit issued
by the authorities of the third country. In cases of doubt, the competent
authorities of the third country. In cases of doubt, the competent authorities ofthe Member State of exportation may contact the authorities which have
issued the import permit.!M11990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 7
TITLE III
CONTROL MEASURES
Article 6
Powers of competent authorities
1. In order to ensure the correct application of Articles 2, 4, 5 and 5a, each
Member State shall adopt within the framework of its domestic law the
measures necessary to enable the competent authorities:
(a) to obtain information on any orders for or operations involving scheduled
substances;
(b) to enter operators’ business premises in order to obtain evidence of
irregularities.
2. Without prejudice to the measures laid down in Articles 4, 5 and 5a and
paragraph 1 of this Article, the competent authorities of each Member State
may prohibit the introduction of scheduled substances into Communitycustoms territory or their departure from it, if there are reasonable grounds forsuspecting that the substances are intended for the illicit manufacture of
narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.
3. For the purpose of preventing specific risks of diversion in free zones as
well as in other sensitive areas such as bonded warehouses, Member Statesshall ensure that controls applied to operations carried out in these areas are
effective at every stage of these operations and not less stringent than those
applied in the other parts of the customs territory.
TITLE IV
ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION
Article 7
For the purposes of applying this Regulation and without prejudice to Article
10, the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 and in particular those onconfidentiality shall apply mutatis mutandis . Each Member State shall
communicate to the other Member States and to the Commission the name of
the competent authorities appointed to act as correspondents in accordance
with Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81.
TITLE V
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 8
Each Member State shall determine the penalties to be applied for
infringement of the provisions of this Regulation. The penalties shall besufficient to promote compliance with those provisions.
Article 9
1. To permit any necessary adjustments to the arrangements for monitoring
trade in scheduled substances between the Community and third countries, the
competent authorities in each Member State shall each year communicate tothe Commission all relevant information on the implementation of themonitoring measures laid down in this Regulation, in particular as regards
substances used for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic
substances and methods of diversion and illicit manufacture.
2. On the basis of the communications made pursuant to paragraph 1, the
Commission shall, pursuant to Article 12 (12) of the United Nations
Convention and in consultation with the Member States, draw up an annual
report to be submitted to the International Narcotics Control Board.!B
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!M1
Article 10
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of the
representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the
Commission.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a
draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on
the draft, within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according tothe urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laiddown in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the
Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of
the Member States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner setout in that Article; the Chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately.
However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the
committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council
forthwith. In that event the Commission shall defer application of themeasures which it has decided for three months from the date ofcommunication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision
within the time period referred to in the previous subparagraph.
3. The procedure laid down in paragraph 2 shall be followed in particular
for:
(a) the determination of the quantities of the scheduled substances listed in
Category 3 and the identification of mixtures containing scheduled
substances listed in Category 3 pursuant to the second subparagraph ofArticle 2a (2);
(b) the identification of countries and substances pursuant to Article 5 (2);(c) the adoption of export authorization requirements pursuant to paragraph
1 (b) of Article 5a whenever there is no agreement with the third countryin question;
(d) the adoption of the model export authorization form referred to in Article
4 as well as the detailed rules concerning its use and the detailed rules forimplementation of the open individual authorization system referred to in
Articles 5 and 5a;
(e) the amendment of the Annex to this Regulation, in cases where the
Annexes to the United Nations Convention are amended.
Article 11
Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the measures it takes
pursuant to this Regulation.
The Commission shall communicate this information to the other Member
States.
Article 11a
The Commission is hereby authorized to adopt a position, on behalf of the
Community, in favour of amendments to Tables I and II of the Annex to the
United Nations Convention which conform to the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 12
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1991.
It shall apply from 1 July 1991.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all
Member States.!C1
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!B
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!B1990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 9
ANNEX
SubstanceCN denomination
(if different)CN code
CATEGOR Y 1
Ephedrine 2939 40 10
Ergometrine 2939 60 10
Ergotamine 2939 60 30
Lysergic acid 2939 60 50
1-phenyl-2-propanone Phenylacetone 2914 30 10
Pseudoephedrine 2939 40 30
Acetylanthranilic acid 2-Acetamidobenzoic acid 2924 29 503,4 Methylenedioxyphenylpropan-2-one 2932 90 77
Isosafrole (cis + trans) 2932 90 73
Piperonal 2932 90 75
Safrole 2932 90 71
The salts of the substances listed in this Category whenever the existence of such salts is possible.
CATEGOR Y 2
Acetic anhydride 2915 24 00
Anthranilic acid 2922 49 50
Phenylacetic acid 2916 33 00
Piperidine 2933 39 30
The salts of the substances listed in this Category whenever the existence of such salts is possible.
CATEGOR Y 3
Acetone 2914 11 00
Ethyl ether Diethyl ether 2909 11 00Methylethyl ketone (MEK) Butanone 2914 12 00Toluene 2902 30 10/90
Potassium permanganate 2841 60 10
Sulphuric acid 2807 00 10
Hydrochloric acid Hydrogen chloride 2806 10 00
The salts of the substances listed in this Category except for sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid whenever the existence of such
salts is possible.!
M21990R3677 — EN — 01.01.1993 — 002.001 — 10