Council Regulation (EEC) No 900/92 of 31 March 1992 amending Regulation (EEC) No 3677/90 laying down measures to be taken to discourage the diversion of certain substances to the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances

• Published date: 10 April 1992
• Subject Matter: public health,Commercial policy
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 96, 10 April 1992

1992R0900 — EN — 13.04.1992 — 000.001

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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 900/92 of 31 March 1992 amending Regulation (EEC) No 3677/90 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 096, 10.4.1992, p.1)

Corrected by:

►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 176, 30.6.1992, p. 68 (900/92)

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▼B

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 900/92

of 31 March 1992

amending Regulation (EEC) No 3677/90 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 Regulation (EEC) No 3677/90 ( 1 ) laid down measures to be taken to discourage the diversion of certain substances to the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;

Whereas diversion patterns are rapidly changing and it is considered on the international level that the procedures identified by Article 12 of the UN Convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, hereinafter referred to as the ‘United Nations Convention’, need to be reinforced to effectively counter chemical diversion;

Whereas the Commission and seven Member States participated in the work of the Chemical Action Task Force created by the Houston Economic Submit (G-7) on 10 July 1990 to develop effective procedures to prevent diversion of precursor and essential chemicals to illicit drugs manufacture; whereas a full Community coordination was ensured throughout this work, as well as close consultation with representatives of trade and industry;

Whereas the Final Report of the Task Force was approved by the London Economic Summit (G-7) on 15 July 1991;

Whereas this Final Report, in recognizing the United Nations Convention as the basic instrument of international cooperation in chemical diversion matters, contains a number of recommendations for reinforcing national and international measures on the basis of that Convention;

Whereas some of the recommendations of the Task Force concern measures not covered by Regulation (EEC) No 3677/90, and in particular certain requirements with regard to the exportation of chemical substances, the extension of the list of chemical substances subject to international control, and a new category-based classification scheme providing for appropriate control measures according to the nature and trade patterns of the substances in each of the three categories established; whereas the substances in Category 3 in particular are widely traded on a licit basis and should be subjected to export authorization arrangements only when they are intended for certain sensitive countries, in order not to increase unnecessarily the burden of controls; whereas furthermore, the report recommends the strengthening of international cooperation by the conclusion of bilateral agreements, in particular between regions exporting and regions importing scheduled chemicals;

Whereas it appears important that the Community, in view of its commitment to the work of the Task Force, should implement the recommendations approved, and contribute as far as possible to international cooperation in this field;

Whereas, under the United Kingdom Nations Convention, amendments to Tables I and II of the Annex are proposed to the Commission on narcotic drugs of the economic and Social Council of the United Nations Organization,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 3677/90 is hereby amended as follows:

1. in Article 1 (2), point (f) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(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;’

.

The former subparagraph (f) shall become (g);

2. in Article 2 (1), the second and third indents shall be replaced by the following:

‘— 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 substances 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.’

;

3. in Article 2, point (4) shall be replaced by the following:

‘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.’

;

4. the following Article shall be added:

‘Article 2a

Licensing and registration of operators

1. Operators, other than customs agents, warehouse depositors and transporters when acting solely in that capacity, engaged in the import, export or transit 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 a licence, 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 a fit 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 transporters when acting solely in that capacity, engaged in the import, export or transit 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 from which 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 3 which 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.’

;

5. Article 3 shall be replaced by the following:

‘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 psychotropic substances,

— provide the competent authorities in summary form such information about their export transactions as the competent authorities may require.’

;

6. Article 4 shall be replaced by the following:

‘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 export authorizations issued by the competent authorities of the Member State in which 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 substances listed 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 such information is available at this stage, identification of the means of transport, 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, the authorities are obliged to make further enquiries in order to satisfy themselves that the importation of the substances has been properly authorized.

4. Without prejudice to any possible implementation of technical enforcement measures, the export authorization referred to in paragraph 1 shall be refused, 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...