REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Annual Synthesis Report for the year 2017 on the implementation of the FLEGT licensing scheme provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 on the establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community
Date: 2019-06-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: activity report, cooperation agreement (EU), forestry legislation, import (EU), import licence, originating product, surveillance concerning imports, sustainable forest management, third country, wood product

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.6.2019  COM(2019) 249 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION Annual Synthesis Report for the year 2017 on the implementation of the FLEGT licensing scheme provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 on the establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Annual Synthesis Report for the year 2017 on the implementation of the FLEGT 
licensing scheme provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 on 
the establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European 
Community 

1.  Introduction and background 

In 2005, the European Union (EU) adopted Regulation (EC) No 2173/20051 of 20 December 
2005  on  the  establishment  of  a  FLEGT  licensing  scheme  for  imports  of  timber  into  the 
European Community (hereinafter the FLEGT Regulation), as part of the implementation of 
the 2003 EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)2. In 
2008,  the  Commission  also  adopted  Implementing  Regulation  (EC)  No  1024/20083  laying 
down detailed measures for the implementation of the FLEGT Regulation. 

The  FLEGT  Regulation  lays  down  rules  for  the  implementation  of  the  FLEGT  licensing 
scheme  through  the  conclusion  of  Voluntary  Partnership  Agreements  (VPAs)  with  timber 
producing  countries,  including  a  requirement  for  imports  into  the  EU  of  timber  products 
originating in FLEGT partner countries to be covered by a FLEGT licence. 

The FLEGT licensing scheme became operational on 15 November 2016 with Indonesia. In 
2017, Indonesia was the only country to operate such scheme. 

In  accordance  with  Article  8(1)  of  the  FLEGT  Regulation,  Member  States  are  required  to 
submit an annual report covering the previous calendar year.  

In line with Article 8(3), the Commission then prepares and makes public an annual synthesis 
report based on the information submitted by the Member States in their annual reports. 

This second report4 provides an analysis of the first full year of implementation of the FLEGT 
licensing scheme across the EU and outlines conclusions and next steps. 

A  more  detailed  analysis  of  the  national  reports,  prepared  for  the  Commission  by  UNEP-
WCMC,  is  available  on  the  Commission  website5.  It  indicates  that  only  21  Member  States 
submitted their report within the deadline. 

In line with Article 8(1) of the FLEGT Regulation, Member States report on: 

(a)  quantities of timber products imported into the Member State under the FLEGT licensing 
scheme, as per Harmonised System (HS) Commodity Heading specified in Annexes II and 
III and per each partner country; 

1 OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p.1. 
2 COM/2003/0251 final 
3 OJ L 277, 18.10.2008, p.23. 
4 The first report covered the period 15 November-31 December 2016, COM/(2018/)448 final 
5 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/flegt.htm 

1 

 
 
                                                           
(b) the number of FLEGT licences received6, as per HS Heading specified in Annexes II and 

III and per each partner country; 

(c)  the  number  of  cases  and  quantities  of  timber  products  involved  where  Article  6(1)  -on 

shipments not covered by a FLEGT licence- has been applied7.  

To  facilitate  the  reporting  by  the  Member  States,  a  reporting  format  was  laid  down  by  the 
Commission  in  line  with  Article  8(2).  To  facilitate  the  monitoring  of  the  FLEGT  licensing 
scheme, the format includes not only the data required under Article 8(1), but also essential 
information  on  the  key  obligations  of  Member  States  under  the  FLEGT  Regulation  (e.g. 
designated Competent Authority/ies, penalties), as well as information on practical aspects of 
the implementation of the scheme. 

The  reporting  format  was  updated  for  the  2017  reporting  exercise,  taking  into  account 
relevant  experience  gained  from  the  first  reporting  exercise  covering  the  year  2016.  The 
format  was  agreed  upon  with  the  Member  States  in  the  FLEGT/EUTR  Expert  Group. 
Furthermore,  to  reduce  the  administrative  burden,  reporting  was  done  through  an  online 
survey, with some sections pre-filled with information provided in the previous report. 

2.  Implementation state of play 

The FLEGT Regulation requires Member States to designate Competent Authority/ies and to 
adopt effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties to enforce the Regulation. The national 
reports  are  a  means  to  assess  the  status  of  implementation  and  the  level  of  consistency 
achieved across the Member States. 

2.1 Designation of Competent Authorities 

In accordance with Article 7(1) of the FLEGT Regulation, all Member States have designated 
a  Competent  Authority  (CA)  or  Competent  Authorities  (CAs)8  and  all  but  one  (Portugal) 
reporting Member States provided information on the legislative act designating the CAs. 

In  9  Member  States,  the  customs  authority  has  been  designated  as  the  CA  for  FLEGT 
licensing,  or  as  part  of  the  CA.  In  19  Member  States,  customs  and  the  CA  are  separate 
authorities.  In these Member States, it is  important  that arrangements  are in  place to  ensure 
that  the  authorities  are  able  to  cooperate  effectively  on  the  processing  of  FLEGT  licences, 
with the CA able to delegate relevant tasks to customs and obtain the information required to 
verify  that  a  FLEGT  licence  corresponds  to  a  given  shipment.  This  delegation  of  tasks  has 
been established in all of these Member States, either by an agreement or a Memorandum of 
Understanding.  The  frequency  and  arrangement  of  data  exchange  varied  across  Member 
States. 

2.2 Quantities of timber imported and related number of FLEGT Licences 

Number of licences 

i.e. the number of licences lodged with the CA 

6 
7   i.e. acting in accordance with national legislation in cases of shipments not covered by a FLEGT licence 
8  See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/list_competent_authorities_flegt.pdf  

2 

 
 
                                                           
In  2017,  26  Member  States  (all  Member  States  except  Latvia  and  Luxembourg)  received 
FLEGT licences. A total of 28,826 FLEGT licences was reported to have been received, with 
the  numbers  of  licences  varying  considerably  across  Member  States  (Figure  1).  Over  98% 
(28,467)  of  the  FLEGT  licences  received  were  validated/approved  by  the  Competent 
Authorities. 

Figure 1: Number of FLEGT licences received in 2017. 

Quantities imported 

Over  658  million  kg  of  FLEGT-licensed  timber  and  timber  products  were  reported  on 
validated FLEGT licences in 20179,10. The main FLEGT-licensed product types imported into 
the  EU  by  weight  included  paper  products  (HS  4802  and  4803),  furniture  (HS  9403  and 
9401),  plywood,  veneered  panels  and  similar  laminated  wood  (HS  4412),  builder’s  joinery 
and  carpentry  (HS  4418),  and  continuously  shaped  wood  (HS  4409)  (Figure  2).  The  main 
importing Member States for these products are shown in Figure 3. 

9 Over 99% (28 331) of validated FLEGT licences reported the weight of the commodity in trade; in the 136 
instances where weight was not reported, a further 443 m3 and 801 913 items were reported.  
To  prevent  double-counting,  where  quantity  was  reported  in  more  than  one  metric,  the  weight  was  taken 
preferentially  over  the  volume  or  number  of  items  because  it  was  the  most  frequently  reported  metric.  Where 
weight was not reported, volume was taken preferentially over the number of items. 
10  This  report  only  includes  data  from  FLEGT  licences.  Although  Member  States  reported  data  from  customs 
declarations,  these  were  not  always  directly  comparable  with  the  data  on  FLEGT  licences,  due  to  the  use  of 
different units of measure.  

3 

 
 
 
                                                           
*Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood. 

Figure  2:  Quantities  of  FLEGT-licensed  products  reported  by  HS  code**  on  validated  FLEGT  licences  from 
Indonesia into the EU in 2017, reported by weight (kg)*** (see Annex A for full description of the 
HS codes).  **  Where  possible,  HS  codes  were  reconciled  to  6  digits;  4-digit  HS  codes  only  include  trade  reported  by 
Member States at the 4 digit level.  *** Quantity was reported by weight on 28 331 (>99%) of FLEGT licences, which may not 
be representative of all trade. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 3:  Main EU importing Member States for the six main FLEGT-licensed products reported by HS code* 
on validated FLEGT licences from Indonesia into the EU in 2017, reported by weight (kg) (see Annex 
A for full description of the HS codes). * Where possible, HS codes were reconciled to 6 digits; 4-digit HS codes only 
include trade reported by Member States at the 4 digit level.  

Taxa imported 

Information on taxa in trade was provided by 23 of the 26 Member States reporting trade in 
2017.  Hungary,  the  Netherlands  and  the  United  Kingdom,  which  together  accounted  for 
311.1 million  kg of timber on validated FLEGT licences,  did  not  provide information  about 
the  species  in  trade.  In  addition  to  this,  over  498,000  kg  of  timber  on  validated  FLEGT 
licences was reported without taxa by the other 23 Member States.  

In total, 115 different species and 57 higher taxa (e.g. genera) were individually reported on 
validated  FLEGT  licences  in  2017  (comprising  176.5  million  kg),  along  with  a  further 
170.7 million  kg  of  mixed  taxa  shipments.  Where  individual  taxa  were  specified,  the  most 
highly traded taxa by weight were Acacia mangium (mangium), Shorea (meranti) and Tectona 
grandis (teak). 

Processing FLEGT licences 

The FLEGIT/TRACES system11 was used to process FLEGT licences in 20 Member States, 
whilst 9 Member States used national systems; Austria reported using both FLEGIT/TRACES 
and a national system. Member States reported also on the format in which FLEGT licences 
were  submitted;  14  Member  States  reported  receiving  FLEGT  licences  in  more  than  one 
format.  In  total,  19  Member  States  reported  the  submission  of  paper  licences,  18  reported 
licences submitted via FLEGIT/TRACES, 3 by national electronic systems and 2 via email.  

11 FLEGIT/TRACES is a web application - a component of the TRACES NT system (TRAde Control and Expert 
System,  New  Technology)  - and  can  be  used  by  EU  importers  and  their  agents,  the  Member  States’  FLEGT 
Competent Authorities and the EU customs for the electronic verification and management of FLEGT Licences 
in a quick and secure way. 

5 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
2.3 Further verification of FLEGT licences and shipments 

According  to  Article  5(4)  of  the  FLEGT  Regulation,  the  CAs  shall  decide  on  the  need  for 
further  verification  of  shipments  using  a  risk-based  approach.  Provisions  are  in  place  in  22 
Member States to carry out further verification checks on FLEGT licences, and in 23 Member 
States to carry out further verification checks on FLEGT shipments (Annex B, Table 1 & 2). 
A total of 1,144 FLEGT licences had additional verification checks carried out in 2017 (for 
example  by  contacting  LIU,  the  Indonesian  Licensing  Information  Unit,  for  further 
verification),  with  checks  carried  out  by  17  Member  States.  Additionally,  the  Netherlands 
reported  carrying  out  additional  verification  checks  daily,  but  did  not  record  the  number  of 
checks in order to limit the administrative burden. 

Member  States  reported  using  a  number  of  risk  criteria  to  establish  whether  additional 
verification  of  a  FLEGT  licence  or  shipment  is  needed,  including  in  cases  of  mismatches 
between the  FLEGT licence information and other documentation  (Annex B, Table 1 &  2). 
Nineteen  Member  States  reported  using  SILK,  the  Indonesian  Timber  Legality  Information 
System,  to  verify  the  FLEGT  licences  they  received  from  operators,  including  6  Member 
States who reported ‘sometimes’ using SILK. 

A  total  of  218  physical  inspections  of  FLEGT-licensed  shipments  were  carried  out  by  12 
Member  States  in  2017,  with  the  shipment  matching  the  details  of  the  FLEGT  licence  in 
94.6% of the cases. 

The Commission, in line with Article 3(2) of implementing Regulation (EC) 1024/2008, has 
provided –and continues to provide when necessary– the Member States with the names and 
other  relevant  details  of  the  Licensing  Authorities  designated  by  Indonesia,  authenticated 
specimens  of  stamps  and  signatures  for  each  Licensing  Authority,  and  specimens  of  the 
FLEGT licence template used by Indonesia. 

2.4 Provisions for penalties 

Article 5(8) of the FLEGT Regulation provides that "each Member State shall determine the 
penalties to be imposed where the provisions of this Regulation are infringed. Such penalties 
shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive." Eighteen Member States have provisions in 
place for administrative fines, 16 for criminal fines, 20 to impose imprisonment, 5 to suspend 
the  authority  to  trade  and  8  for  notices  of  remedial  action  or  warning  letters.  Potential 
maximum  penalties  for  imprisonment  range  from  1  month  to  15  years  (16  Member  States 
reported maximum potential penalties of 1-5 years). 

In  line  with  Article  5(7)  of  the  FLEGT  Regulation,  customs  may  suspend  the  release  of  or 
detain timber products  where they have reason  to  believe that the licence may not  be valid. 
Twenty-three Member States  reported that they  may seize timber products,  and 21 Member 
States  reported  that  the  disposal  of  confiscated  timber  is  provided  for  in  their  national 
legislation  (Figure  4).  Where  the  disposal  of  confiscated  timber  is  provided  for  in  national 
legislation, 10 Member States reported this to be the responsibility of customs, and 5 Member 
States reported this to be the responsibility of the CA. 

6 

 
 
A)                                                                           B)  

Figure  4:  Member  States  with  (A)  penalties  that  include  the  seizure  or  confiscation  of  timber  shipments,  (B) 

provisions for the disposal of confiscated timber established in their national legislation. 

2.5 Penalties applied 

In 2017, 11 Member States reported not having approved12 a combined total of 107 FLEGT 
licences, with the largest number not being approved by Italy (63) (Figure 5). Two Member 
States  (Austria  and  Estonia)  applied  Article  6(1)13  to  a  combined  total  of  4  cases  weighing 
4,475  kg  in  2017,  all  of  which  resulted  in  administrative  penalties.  One  Member  State 
(Germany) applied Article 6(2)14, due to an alleged forged licence. 

12 This may include FLEGT licences that were rejected and those that were ignored (e.g. cases where a FLEGT 
licence was submitted for timber products not covered by the VPA with Indonesia). 
13 Article 6(1) states that, if Competent Authorities establish that a shipment is not covered by a FLEGT license 
and its import is thus prohibited, they shall act in accordance with their national legislation in force. 
14 Article 6(2): Member States shall notify the Commission of any information suggesting that the provisions of 
this Regulation are being, or have been, circumvented. 

7 

 
 
 
                   
 
 
                                                           
Figure 5: Number of FLEGT licences not approved in 2017. 

2.6 Fees for processing FLEGT licences 

Member States may charge fees for the processing of FLEGT licences, as per Article 5(6) of 
the FLEGT Regulation. Six Member States reported doing so, with fees ranging from around 
EUR 11 (GBP 9.60) to up to EUR 105.90 (Annex B, Table 3). 

2.7 Other implementing measures 

Twenty-one  Member  States  provided  information  on  other  implementing  measures  and 
challenges.  Ten  of  these  reported  collaborating  with  other  CAs  and  6  with  the  European 
Commission;  these  collaborations  were  considered  to  be  positive.  Several  implementation 
challenges were raised by one or more Member States, including: the need for more practical 
guidance on implementing the FLEGT Regulation on the ground (e.g. for customs officers), 
making FLEGIT more user friendly, and giving CAs greater access to data on SILK. Member 
States  also  commented  on  issues  arising  from  receiving  incomplete  or  damaged  FLEGT 
licences,  on  issues  with  mismatching  information  between  FLEGT  licences  and  customs 
declarations, and on the administrative burden of resolving these issues. 

3. Conclusions 

The second  report on the implementation  of the  FLEGT licensing scheme shows that it has 
progressed well. In 2017 -the first full year of implementation of FLEGT licensing scheme- 
28,826  licences  were  received,  of  which  over  98%  (accounting  for  over  658  million  kg  of 
timber and timber products) were approved. Positive collaboration has been reported between 
CAs and with the Commission. The number of Member States charging fees for processing 
FLEGT  licenses  increased,  with  a  smaller  range  of  fees  compared  to  the  one  previously 
reported. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
Some  challenges  still  remain,  including  mismatching  information  between  FLEGT  licences 
and customs declarations, and restricted access of Member States to data on SILK. 

4. Next Steps 

The Commission  will continue to  work in  cooperation with  Member States on the  effective 
and consistent application of the FLEGT Regulation across the EU, including by developing 
additional  guidance  documents  and  on  revising  the  Customs  and  FLEGT  Implementation 
Guidelines, where necessary, in the light of the experience to date. The Commission will also 
continue  to  work  in  cooperation  with  Member  States  on  the  improvement  of  reporting, 
including  the  consistent  reporting  of  data  on  FLEGT  licences  and  customs  declarations,  the 
consistent  use  of  measurement  units  and  the  further  improvement  of  the  reporting  format, 
taking  into  account  the  experience  gained.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  will  encourage 
Member  States  that  do  not  currently  use  FLEGIT/TRACES  to  do  so,  as  it  will  -inter  alia- 
facilitate  reporting.  Finally,  the  Commission  will  continue  to  work  on  the  further 
improvement  of  the  FLEGIT/TRACES  IT  system,  taking  into  account  the  experience  and 
suggestions by Member States and cooperate on data exchange with Member States that have 
developed their own national electronic systems. 

In parallel, the Commission will continue to work closely with the Indonesian authorities to 
address the issues and challenges identified above, as part of the broader discussions on the 
implementation  of  the  EU-Indonesia  FLEGT  VPA  and  monitoring  of  its  impacts.  The 
Commission has also launched pilot work with Indonesia on the integration of the respective 
IT  systems,  i.e.  FLEGIT/TRACES,  with  SILK,  towards  a  fully  electronic-based  licensing 
system in the future. 

9 

 
 
Annex A 

Harmonised System (HS) codes of FLEGT products imported in 2017 

HS code  Details  

4407 

Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm.   

4407.25  Wood, tropical; dark red meranti, light red meranti and meranti bakau, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or 

peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, thicker than 6mm 

4409 

Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, 
rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, moulded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether 
or not planed, sanded or end-jointed. 

4409.22  Wood; tropical (including unassembled strips and friezes for parquet flooring), continuously shaped along any 

edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed 

4409.29  Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, 

rebated, chamfered, V jointed, beaded, moulded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether 
or not planed, sanded or end jointed, non-coniferous (not from rattan) 

4412 

Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood 

4412.31 

4412.94 

4414 

4418 

Plywood; consisting only of sheets of wood (not bamboo), each ply 6mm or thinner, with at least one outer ply of 
tropical wood 

Blockboard, laminboard and battenboard (not bamboo, and other than plywood consisting only of sheets of wood 
each ply 6mm or thinner) 

Wooden frames for paintings, photographs, mirrors or similar objects (not from bamboo nor rattan) 

Builders' joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels, assembled flooring panels, shingles and 
shakes 

4418.20  Wood; doors and their frames and thresholds 

4418.99  Wood; builders' joinery and carpentry of wood n.e.c. in heading no. 4418, other than of bamboo 

4421 

Wooden articles n.e.c. in heading no. 4414 to 4420 

4421.99  Wood; not of bamboo, articles n.e.c. in heading no. 4414 to 4420 (excluding clothes hangers) 

4703 

4802 

Chemical wood pulp, soda or sulphate, other than dissolving grades 

Uncoated paper and paperboard, of a kind used for writing, printing or other graphic purposes, and punch card 
stock and punch tape paper, in rolls or sheets, other than paper of heading No 4801 or 4803 ; handmade paper and 
paperboard : 

4802.56 

Uncoated paper and paperboard (not 4801 or 4803); printing, writing or graphic, 10% or less by weight of 
mechanical or chemi-mechanical processed fibre, weight 40-150g/m2, in sheets 435mm or less by 297mm or less 
(unfolded) 

4803 

4804 

4810 

4821 

9401 

Tissue, towel, napkin stock or similar; for household or sanitary uses, cellulose wadding, webs of cellulose fibres, 
in rolls over 36cm in width or rectangular sheets with one side exceeding 36cm when unfolded 

Uncoated kraft paper and paperboard, in rolls or sheets, other than that of heading no. 4802 or 4803 

Paper and paperboard, coated on one or both sides with kaolin (China clay) or other inorganic substances, with or 
without binder, and with no other coating, whether or not surface-coloured, surface-decorated or printed, in rolls or 
rectangular (including square) sheets, of any size (not from non-wooden nor recycled material) 

Paper or paperboard labels of all kinds, whether or not printed 

Seats (other than those of heading 94.02), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof 

9401.69 

Seats; with wooden frames, not upholstered, (excluding medical, surgical, dental, veterinary or barber furniture) 

9403 

Other furniture and parts thereof 

9403.60 

Furniture; wooden, other than for office, kitchen or bedroom use 

10 

 
 
Table 1: Criteria used to determine whether additional verification of a FLEGT licence was required, where reported by Member States.  

Annex B 

Country 

Agency carrying 
out checks* 

Species 

Operator 

CA 
CA & C 
CA 
CA 

Austria 
Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic  CA & C 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 

CA 
C 
CA 

Germany 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Latvia 

Lithuania 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Poland 

Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 

Sweden 

CA 
CA 
CA 
CA & C 
CA  

C 
CA & C 
CA 
CA 

CA 
CA & C 
CA 

CA & Other 
(LIU) 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume/ 
weight of 
shipment 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

HS codes 

Country of 
origin 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CA 

United 
Kingdom 
* CA = Competent Authority; C = customs. 
** Text in square brackets ‘[ ]’ has been translated or summarised from comments provided by the Member States. 

 

 

 

Mismatch of 
document 
information 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

Other issues** 

Unspecified 
Unspecified 
Unspecified 
e.g. only copy of FLEGT licence is provided 
Licence not existing in SILK-database, stamp and/ or 
signature missing, licence is not printed on an official paper 
Compare against SILK licence information 
Unspecified 
Comparison against licence information on SILK 

CA checks legality of licences in Indonesian Timber legality 
information system 
Unspecified 
Unspecified 
Unspecified 
Doubts related to the authenticity of the signature on the 
FLEGT licence 

Unspecified 
[When the licence does not exist or does not coincide with 
SILK or when it is expired] 
The licence has no signature, stamps, other mandatory 
information; the signature is missing in SILK or no longer 
valid; the licence is no longer valid. 
Mismatch in United Kingdom and Indonesian Trade Tariff 
codes 

11 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2: Criteria used to determine whether additional verification of a FLEGT licensed shipment was required, where reported by Member States.  

Agency carrying out 
checks* 

Species 

Operator 

Volume/weight 
of shipment 

HS codes 

Country of 
origin 

Mismatch of 
document 
information 
 

Other issues 
with FLEGT 
licence 

Croatia 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic  CA & C 
Denmark 

Country 

Austria 
Belgium 
Bulgaria 

Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Ireland 
Italy 
Lithuania 
Malta 

Netherlands 
Poland 
Romania 

Slovakia 
Slovenia 

CA & C 
C & Other ** 
C & Other (Executive 
Forestry Agency) 
C 
CA & Other (unspecified) 

CA & C & Other 
(unspecified) 
C & Other (unspecified) 
CA & C 
C & Other (unspecified) 
CA & C 
CA 
CA & C 
C & Other (unspecified) 
CA & C & Other 
(unspecified) 
C & Other (unspecified) 
C & Other (unspecified) 
CA & C & Other 
(unspecified) 
CA & C 
CA & C & Other (Financial 
Administration) 
CA & C 
C 
C & Other (Border Force) 







































































 






















 
 






















 




 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

Spain 
Sweden 
United 
Kingdom 
* CA=Competent Authority; C=customs. 
** Belgian CA is planning to do additional risk based checks (species, volume, HS codes, country of origin) in collaboration with customs. 
*** Spain: customs check that the weight of shipments do not exceed 10% of the weight indicated on the licence. 

*** 






 
 










 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 

Random spot 
checks 

Other issues 

 








 
 
 
 














 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 

 

 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 3: Approximate levels of fees and basis of calculation for those Member States charging importers 
for the processing of FLEGT licences 

Country 
Austria 

Belgium 

Level of fee [converted]  Basis for fee calculation 
EUR 105.90 

Fees were calculated based on 
- the number of imports from the beginning of 2015 to the end of May 2016 
- estimated time needed to check a licence in the office 
- estimated duration and costs (working time, travelling costs) of physical checks 
Legal basis for fee 

Finland 
Greece 
Italy 
United Kingdom  GBP 9.60 [EUR 11.26]  Legal basis for fee; based on average staff time spent processing a FLEGT licence 

Legal basis for fee; based on average staff time spent processing a FLEGT licence 
Legal basis for fee 
Based on average staff time spent processing a FLEGT licence 

EUR 50 (only for 
shipments >500kg) 
EUR 70 
EUR 100 
EUR 50 

13