Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1423 of 21 May 2021 laying down the detailed arrangements under Directive (EU) 2021/555 of the European Parliament and of the Council for the systematic exchange, by electronic means, of information relating to refusals to grant authorisations to acquire or possess certain firearms (Text with EEA relevance)
Scope
This Regulation applies to the exchange, via the system referred to in Article 18(5) of Directive (EU) 2021/555, of information concerning refusals to grant authorisations as provided for in Articles 9 and 10 of that Directive on grounds of security or relating to the reliability of the person concerned.
A refusal falls within the scope of this Regulation only if the administrative or judicial decision by which the person concerned is precluded from acquiring or possessing the relevant firearms (referred to in this Regulation as ‘the refusal decision’) was made on or after the date of application of this Regulation.
The electronic exchange system
For the purposes of exchanging information to which this Regulation applies, the system referred to in Article 18(5) of Directive (EU) 2021/555 shall be the Internal Market Information System as provided for in Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1427.
Information to be exchanged
1. The information to be exchanged pursuant to Article 18(4) of Directive (EU) 2021/555 with regard to a refusal to grant an authorisation as provided for in Article 9 or 10 of that Directive on grounds of security or relating to the reliability of the person concerned shall comprise the following:
(a)
the name of the person concerned;
(b)
the date of birth of that person;
(c)
the place and country of birth of that person;
(d)
the nationality of that person;
(e)
the date on which the refusal decision was made;
(f)
the national reference number or other unique identifier of the refusal decision, if such a number or identifier has been allocated to the refusal decision in the Member State where it was made;
(g)
the name and contact details of the administrative or judicial authority that made the refusal decision and, if different, the name and contact details of the authority to be contacted in order to seek further information about the refusal;
(h)
to which one of the following three categories the refusal decision belongs:
(i)
refusal decisions that operate to preclude a person from acquiring or possessing a firearm indefinitely, without a fixed end date;
(ii)
refusal decisions that operate to preclude a person from acquiring or possessing a firearm for a defined period, with a fixed end date (including decisions rejecting a request for authorisation that have the effect of barring the person from re-applying for authorisation within a defined period, with a fixed end date);
(iii)
refusal decisions that do not fall within either point (i) or point (ii);
(i)
if the refusal decision falls within point (h)(ii), the fixed end date in question;
(j)
to which one of the following three categories the refusal decision belongs:
(i)
refusal decisions made in response to a request for authorisation as provided for in Article 9 or 10 of Directive (EU) 2021/555, or in response to a request to confirm, renew or prolong such an authorisation;
(ii)
refusal decisions withdrawing an authorisation granted, confirmed, renewed or prolonged under Article 9 or 10 of Directive (EU) 2021/555;
(iii)
refusal decisions that do not fall within either point (i) or point (ii).
2. In addition to information mentioned in paragraph 1, points (a) to (d), Member States may choose to provide further identification details of the person concerned, such as a tax code, passport number or identity card number, where necessary to correctly identify that person.
3. The information listed in paragraph 1 and, where applicable, the further details referred to in paragraph 2 shall be entered in the Internal Market Information System within 30 calendar days of the date on which the refusal decision was made and shall be immediately accessible by the competent authorities of all Member States.
Obligations to remove, update and review information
1. Where a refusal decision is annulled or otherwise held to be invalid after information relating to it has been entered in the Internal Market Information System, the competent authority shall remove the entry from the Internal Market Information System within 30 calendar days of the annulment or finding of invalidity.
2. Where, in circumstances other than those referred to in paragraph 1, information entered in the Internal Market Information System relating to a refusal decision ceases to be accurate and complete for whatever reason, including as a result of the subsequent revocation or amendment of the refusal decision, the competent authority shall update the information in the Internal Market Information System relating to that refusal within 30 calendar days from the date on which the information ceased to be accurate or complete. In a case involving revocation of the refusal decision, the date from which the revocation takes effect (‘the revocation date’) shall be added to the entry in the Internal Market Information System.
3. In the case of an entry in the Internal Market Information System for a refusal decision falling within Article 3(1)(h)(i), the competent authority shall review the entry at least once every 10 years from the date on which the refusal decision was made and shall update the entry, immediately following each such review, to confirm that the refusal decision remains in force or, if the decision has been revoked, to record the revocation date in accordance with paragraph 2.
4. In the case of an entry for a refusal decision falling within Article 3(1)(h)(ii) with a fixed end date that is more than 10 years after the date on which the refusal decision was made, the competent authority shall review the entry at least once every 10 years from the date on which the refusal decision was made, up until the date recorded in the Internal Market Information System as the fixed end date, and shall update the entry, immediately following each such review, to confirm that the refusal decision remains in force or, if the decision has been revoked, to add the revocation date in accordance with paragraph 2.
5. If a refusal decision is revoked, the obligation in paragraph 3 or, as applicable, paragraph 4 shall cease to apply to the entry once it has been updated to add the revocation date in accordance with paragraph 2.
Period for which information remains accessible in the Internal Market Information System
1. Information exchanged via the Internal Market Information System in accordance with this Regulation shall remain accessible in the Internal Market Information System for 10 years from whichever of the following dates is the latest one, insofar as they are applicable to the refusal decision in question and taking account of any updates made pursuant to Article 4:
(a)
the date recorded in the Internal Market Information System as the date on which the refusal decision was made;
(b)
the date recorded in the Internal Market Information System as the date on which the entry was last updated to confirm that the refusal decision remains in force;
(c)
the date recorded in the Internal Market Information System as the fixed end date of the refusal decision.
However, in the case of an entry in the Internal Market Information System subject to the obligation under Article 4(4), if the competent authority fails to comply with that obligation, the entry shall cease to be accessible in the Internal Market Information System on expiry of the deadline set by that Article for compliance with that obligation.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, for any refusal decision for which a date is recorded in the Internal Market Information System as the date from which revocation of the decision takes effect, the entry shall cease to be accessible in the Internal Market Information System on expiry of the period of 10 years from the date so recorded in the Internal Market Information System as the revocation date.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
It shall apply from 31 January 2022.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
