Commission Regulation (EC) No 656/2004 of 7 April 2004 amending Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 on the export of cultural goods
Date: 2004-04-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: cultural object, customs formalities, export, form

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 656/2004

of 7 April 2004

amending Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 on the export of cultural goods

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

2. In Article 6(1), the opening sentence is replaced by the

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 on the
export of cultural goods (1), and in particular Article 7 thereof,

After consulting the Advisory Committee on Cultural Goods,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 of 30 March
1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 on the export of
cultural goods (2), made provision for a model export
licence form applicable to categories of cultural goods
listed in annex to Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92.
However, this form is not consistent with the United
Nations Layout Key for Trade Documents and in practice
its use causes some problems.

Therefore a new model form conforming to the United
Nations Layout Key for Trade Documents should be
drawn up. The form should also be accompanied by
explanatory notes to help interested parties to draw it up
uniformly and correctly.

Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 stipulates that the form
should be filled in by mechanical or electronic means or
by hand. However, in order to reduce the administrative
costs, Member States which so wish and have the neces-
sary technical means should be allowed to issue the
document by electronic means.

To ensure that the issuing authority receives sheet 3 of
the form, provision should be made for the customs
office of exit from the Community customs territory to
return this sheet directly to the issuing authority instead
of giving it to the exporter or his/her representative, as
provided for at present.

(5)

Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 should therefore be
amended accordingly,

following:

‘1.
The applicant shall complete boxes 1, 3, 6 to 21, 24
and, if necessary, 25 of the application and the other sheets
except where pre-printing of
is
authorised.’

the box or boxes

3. Article 8 is amended as follows:

(a) the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 is replaced by the

following:

‘1.
The customs office responsible for handling the
export declaration shall ensure that the entries on the
export declaration or,
the ATA carnet,
correspond to the entries on the export licence and that
a reference to the export licence is entered in box 44 of
the export declaration or on the counterfoil of the ATA
carnet.’

if applicable,

(b) Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

After completing box 23 in copies 2 and 3, the
‘2.
customs office authorised to accept the export declara-
tion shall return to the declarant or to his/her authorised
representative the sheet intended for the holder.’

(c) In paragraph 3, the last sentence is replaced by the

following:

‘The customs office shall affix its stamp to box 26 of the
form and return it to the issuing authority.’

4. In Article 16(3), the opening sentence is replaced by the

following:

‘3.
The licence form shall be produced in printed or elec-
tronic form in one or more of the official languages of the
Community.’

5. Annex I is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Regu-

lation.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 2

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 is amended as follows:

1. In Article 3(3), the opening sentence is replaced by the

following:
‘3.
Forms shall be produced in printed or electronic form
and filled out in an official language of the Communities
the issuing
designated by the competent authorities of
Member State.’

(1) OJ L 395, 31.12.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 77, 31.3.1993, p. 24. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1526/98 (OJ L 201, 17.7.1998, p. 47).

Export licences issued up to 30 June 2004 shall remain valid
until 30 June 2005.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter
into force on the third day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

It shall apply from 1 July 2004.

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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 7 April 2004.

For the Commission

Frederik BOLKESTEIN

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX

‘ANNEX I

MODEL STANDARD EXPORT LICENCE FORM

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EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. General

1.1. Licences are required for the export of cultural goods to protect the cultural heritage of the Member States pursuant

to Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 of 9 December 1992.

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 of 30 March 1993 sets out the form in which standard export licences
are to be drawn up. It is intended to guarantee standardised checks on the export of cultural goods outside the
Community's borders.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1526/98 of 16 July 1998 provided for two other types of export licence, namely:

— specific open licences, to be issued for specific cultural goods which are liable to be temporarily exported from

the Community on a regular basis for use and/or exhibition in a third country,

— general open licences, to be issued to museums or other institutions to cover the temporary export of any of
the goods that belong to their permanent collections that are liable to be temporarily exported from the Com-
munity on a regular basis for exhibition in a third country.

1.2. Three copies of the standard export licence form must be completed legibly and indelibly, preferably by mechanical
or electronic means. If they are handwritten, they must be completed in ink and in capital letters. They must under
no circumstances contain erasures, overwritten words or other alterations.

1.3. Any unused box must be lined crossed out so that nothing can be added.

The copies can be identified by their numbering and function, indicated in the left-hand margin. They should be
ordered in the set as follows:

— Copy No 1: application to be kept by the issuing authority (indicate in each Member State the identity of that
authority); in the case of additional lists, as many copies of No 1 as necessary must be used; it is up to the
competent issuing authorities to establish whether more than one export licence should be issued,

— Copy No 2: to be presented in support of the export declaration at the competent customs office of export and

kept by the licence holder after it has been stamped by that office,

— Copy No 3: to be presented at the competent customs office of export and to accompany the consignment
thereafter until its arrival at the customs office of exit from the Community; the customs office of exit stamps
this copy and then returns it to the issuing authority.

2. Headings

Box 1: Applicant: Name of individual or company and full residential address or address of company headquarters

Box 2: Export licence: For completion by competent authorities

Box 3: Consignee: Name and full address of consignee, including the third country to which the good is being perma-
nently or temporarily exported

Box 4: Indicate whether export is permanent or temporary

Box 5: Issuing authority: Name of the competent authority and the Member State issuing the authorisation

Box 6: Applicant's representative: To be completed only where the applicant is using an authorised representative

Box 7: Owner of the object(s): Name and address

Box 8: Description in terms of the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92. Category/-ies of cultural good(s): These
goods are classified in categories numbered 1 to 14. Enter only the corresponding number.

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Box 9: Description of the cultural good(s): State the exact nature of the good(s) (for example painting, sculpture, bas-
relief, negative matrix or positive copy in the case of films, furniture or objects, musical instruments) and give an objec-
tive description of the appearance of the good(s).

— For category 12 objects: state the type of collection and/or geographical origin.

— For scientific collections and specimens: give the scientific name.

— For archaeological collections composed of a large number of objects: it is enough to give a generic description,
which should be accompanied by an attestation or certificate issued by the scientific or archaeological body or insti-
tution and a list of the objects.

If there is not enough room to describe all the objects, the applicant must add any extra pages needed.

Box 10: CN-code: As an indicator, state Combined Nomenclature code.

Box 11: Number/quantity: State the number of items, particularly where they form a set.

In the case of films, indicate the number of reels, format and length.

Box 12: Value in national currency: State the value of the good(s) in national currency.

Box 13: Purpose of export of the cultural good(s)/reason for which the licence is requested: State whether the good to be
exported has been sold or is intended to be sold, exhibited, valued, repaired or put to any other use, and whether its
return is compulsory.

Box 14: Title or subject: If the work does not have an exact name, indicate its subject with a summary of the appearance
of the object or, in the case of films, the subject.

For scientific instruments or other objects for which it is not possible to specify a title or subject, it is sufficient to
complete Box 9.

Box 15: Measurements: Measurements (in centimetres) of the good(s) and any supports

In the case of complex or unusual shapes, indicate the measurements in this order: H x L x D (height, width, depth).

Box 16: Dating: Where no precise date is known, indicate the century and part of the century (first quarter, first half) or
millennium (categories 1 to 6).

For antique goods to which age specifications apply (more than 50 or 100 years old or between 50 and 100 years old),
and for which it is not sufficient to indicate the century, specify a year, even if approximate (e.g. around 1890, approxi-
mately 1950).

For films, if date not known, specify decade.

In the case of sets (archives and libraries), indicate earliest and latest dates.

Box 17: Other characteristics: Give any other information on formal aspects that could be useful for identification, e.g.
historical antecedents, conditions of execution, former owners, state of preservation and restoration, bibliography, elec-
tronic code or marking.

Box 18: Documents submitted/specific indications relating to identification: Indicate with crosses in the appropriate
squares.

Box 19: Artist, period, workshop and/or style: Give the artist's name if known and recorded. If the works are collabora-
tive products or copies, indicate the artists or the artist copied, if known. If the work is only attributed to a single artist,
enter “Attributed to...”.

If the artist is not known, state the workshop, school or style (e.g. workshop of Velazquez, Venetian school, Ming
period, Louis XV-style or Victorian-style).

In the case of printed matter, state the name of the publisher, the place and the year of publication.

Box 20: Medium or technique: The information given in this box should be as precise as possible. Indicate the materials
used and specify the technique employed (e.g. oil painting, woodcuts, charcoal or pencil drawing, lost wax casting,
nitrate film, etc.).

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Box 21 (Copy 1): Application: Must be completed by the applicant or his/her representative, who must vouch for the
correctness of the information supplied in the application and supporting documents.

Box 22: Signature and stamp of issuing authority: To be entered by the competent authority, with place and date, on the
three copies of licence.

Box 23 (Copies 2 and 3): For completion by customs office of export: To be entered by the customs office where the
export transactions are carried out and the export licence is presented.

“Customs office of export” means the office where the export declaration is submitted and export formalities are carried
out.

Box 24: Photograph(s) of the cultural good(s): A colour photograph (at least 9 x 12 cm) must be attached with glue. To
facilitate the identification of three-dimensional objects, photographs may be required of the different facets.

The competent authority must endorse the photograph with a signature and the stamp of the issuing authority.

The competent authorities may require other photographs.

Box 25: Supplementary pages: State the number of additional pages used, if any.

Box 26 (copies 2 and 3): Customs office of exit: To be completed by the customs office of exit

“Customs office of exit” means the last customs office before the goods leave the customs territory of the Community.’