Information storage regarding the import, export and re-export of listed goods
1. Member States shall keep, for not less than 20 years, all information relating to the import, export and re-export of listed goods, which is necessary to trace and identify those goods, and to prevent and detect illicit trafficking therein.
2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall include, mutatis mutandis , information in accordance with Article 21(1).
3. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to imports or exports as referred to in Article 12(1), point (a), or in Article 22(1), points (a) and (b).
Statistics and annual report
1. The Commission shall, in consultation with the Firearms Imports and Exports Coordination Group referred to in Article 39(1), submit each year by 31 October an annual report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of this Regulation, and shall make the report public. The report shall include the following information:
(a)
the number of import and export authorisations granted in the previous year in the customs territory of the Union, at Member State level;
(b)
the quantities of listed goods imported into and exported from the customs territory of the Union during the previous year, by category and sub-category as listed in Annex I, by origin and by destination country at Member State level;
(c)
the customs value of the imports and exports referred to in point (b), at Union level;
(d)
the number of refusals of authorisations during the previous year and the reasons therefor;
(e)
the number of seizures, the quantity of listed goods seized or detained, by category, during the previous year;
(f)
the quantity and results of post-shipment checks at Member State level during the previous year; and,
(g)
the number of infringements and penalties related to the enforcement of this Regulation at Member State level during the previous year.
2. The Commission shall have access to the statistical data gathered in the electronic licensing system and in the system to be determined in accordance with Article 30(8).
3. Member States shall submit to the Commission the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (f) and (g), each year by 31 July.
4. The statistics and the annual report referred to in paragraph 1 shall not include any personal data, any commercially sensitive information or any protected defence, foreign policy or national security information.
Administrative fees
Member States may apply a fee to cover the administrative costs of handling applications for authorisations.
Electronic licensing system
1. The Commission shall establish and maintain a secure and encrypted electronic licensing system for import, export and simplified export authorisations, and registrations, information and decisions related to them pursuant to Articles 9, 11, 12, 13, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30.
The electronic licensing system referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide at least the following functionalities:
(a)
allow for the registration of persons entitled to request an authorisation, an exemption, or an administrative simplification under this Regulation before submitting the first application and, if applicable, the inclusion of the Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 in the registration profile;
(b)
allow for the electronic procedure to request, grant, issue and store an authorisation, an exemption, or an administrative simplification pursuant to this Regulation;
(c)
allow for an interconnection with the national electronic licensing systems through which authorisations, exemptions, or administrative simplifications pursuant to this Regulation may be requested, granted and issued in the Member States, and enable the transfer of information from those national electronic licensing systems;
(d)
allow for the interconnection with national customs authorities via the European Union Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange System referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399, including quantity management of authorised goods where necessary;
(e)
allow for risk profiling by competent authorities and the customs authorities, of persons authorised or registered in accordance with this Regulation to import, export or re-export listed goods, and for the profiling of those goods, including automatic warnings regarding missing proof-of-receipt documentation;
(f)
allow for administrative assistance and cooperation between competent authorities and the Commission to exchange information and statistics regarding the use of the electronic licensing system;
(g)
allow for the exchange of information, including on refusals and the reasons for refusals to grant authorisations, between competent authorities for the implementation of this Regulation;
(h)
allow for communication between competent authorities and persons requesting an authorisation, an exemption, or administrative simplification and for the uploading of proofs of receipt;
(i)
allow for communication between competent authorities, the Commission and customs authorities for the implementation of this Regulation;
(j)
with the exception of personal data, allow for statistics, such as the number of authorisations, the quantities and values of actual imports and exports, the number of refusals to grant an authorisation in respect of listed goods, and the reasons therefor, including by origin and by destination.
2. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish rules for the functioning of the electronic licensing system, including rules relating to the processing of personal data and the exchange of data with other IT systems. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 43(3).
3. The Commission shall provide access to the electronic licensing system to:
(a)
customs authorities and competent authorities for the purpose of executing their obligations under this Regulation and under the customs legislation;
(b)
persons requesting an authorisation, an exemption, or administrative simplification;
(c)
the relevant Commission services for the purposes of maintaining the system, the exchange of data according to paragraph 1, points (e) and (f), and the collection of data in accordance with paragraph 1, points (i) and (j).
The persons referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall have access only to information regarding themselves.
4. The Commission shall provide for interconnection between the electronic licensing system and the electronic national licencing systems, if they have been established.
5. The processing of personal data within the electronic licencing system shall be carried out in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, as applicable.
6. The electronic licensing system shall be in place by 12 February 2027.
7. For the purposes of the verification and the communication referred to in Article 29(3) and (4) of this Regulation, respectively, the electronic European Union Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange System referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 connects the electronic licensing system with the EU Single Window Environment for Customs. That interconnection shall be established by 12 February 2031.
Information and reporting obligations
1. Member States shall report to the Commission by 1 July each year on the models of the alarm and signal weapons that have been checked in accordance with Article 8. Those reports shall be discussed in the Firearms Imports and Exports Coordination Group referred to in Article 39.
2. Member States shall report every 2 years to the Firearms Imports and Exports Coordination Group referred to in Article 39 the results of the monitoring of authorisations referred to in Articles 10(8) and 24(5). Those reports shall be discussed in the Firearms Imports and Exports Coordination Group.
