Transit of dual-use items
Items that by virtue of their nature or particular specifications can be used for either civil or military purposes are known as dual use items.
There may be restrictions, authorisation requirements, or prohibitions arising from national legislation that affect also the transit or movement of non-Community dual-use items through the Union’s customs territory to a country of destination outside the Union.
Transit restrictions and authorisation requirements pursuant to the Dual-use Regulation
The Dual-use Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 428/2009) does not specify a general authorisation requirement for the transit of dual-use items. It is up to customs offices to interrupt the transit of items listed in Annex I of the Dual-use Regulation, and so prevent them from leaving German domestic territory, if there are indications that these items are completely or partly intended, or could be intended, for use in connection with weapons of mass destruction or missile technology.
This can be accomplished by the customs office of exit when these items are leaving the national territory. If the items are being transported across an internal frontier into another Member State then any customs office involved has the right to interrupt the transport of the items if there are any indications of the above use.
Where this power is exercised, the customs office informs the Office of Economic and Export Control which in such cases is the competent German authority to determine whether the transit is conclusively forbidden, or whether a transit authorisation would be required for the specific case.
Requirements of authorisation and transit prohibitions due to embargo regulations
In addition to the Dual-use Regulation, the transit of dual-use items may also be prohibited if a relevant embargo regulation includes a prohibition to transfer dual-use items. Where an embargo regulation merely specifies an authorisation requirement in the case of export or import, it is clear that this relates directly to an intended transit as well.
At present, restrictions of this kind are only contained in the embargo regulations directed at Iran, North Korea and Syria.
Transit prohibition pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 (Iran)
The so-called Iran Regulation lays down a prohibition on the sale, supply, transfer, and export of certain products to Iranian individuals, organisations, or institutions.
These affect products, including nearly all dual-use items, which means that in such cases transit is generally prohibited.
Transit prohibition pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 329/2007 (North Korea)
It is forbidden, according to this regulation, to supply, sell, transfer, or export dual-use items to natural or legal persons, organisations, institutions, or for use in North Korea. Transit is thus also prohibited in principle.
Transit prohibition pursuant to Regulation (EU) 36/2012 (Syria)
This Regulation includes a prohibition to directly or indirectly sell, deliver, pass on, or export the items listed in its Annex I A which may be used for the purposes of internal repression or for the production and maintenance of items that may be used for internal repression, to any any person, entity or body in Syria or for use in Syria. It therefore prohibits their transit to Syria. The above Annex comprises what are called ‘dual-use items’ as listed in Annex I of the Dual-use Regulation.
