EC Regulation on the export of cultural goods
Council Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008 on the export of cultural goods
Scope of application of the Regulation
The Regulation on the export of cultural goods states that the presentation of a licence is required prior to the export of certain goods from the European internal market. The purpose of this EU-wide export procedure is to ensure that uniform controls are carried out at the Community’s external borders when cultural goods are exported. Even though the United Kingdom has left the European Union, these rules will continue to apply to and within the United Kingdom at least until 31 December 2020.
Exports into the internal market are governed by the national rules of the Member States, which in some cases differ from the Regulation in respect of the age and value thresholds for protected categories of objects.
Definition of the term “protected cultural good”
Works of art and other cultural goods whose departure from the EU (and therefore also from Germany) would represent a significant loss for European and national cultural heritage are subject to special export regulations.
Annex I to the Regulation sets out the categories of cultural goods requiring special protection in the context of trade with third countries; this protection applies regardless of whether the goods have been classified by the Member State in question as national cultural property. According to the Regulation, a licence is required to export a cultural object from Germany if the relevant object can be assigned to one of the categories of cultural goods (A.1 to A.15) and meets the relevant financial threshold (under B).
Obligation to obtain a licence prior to exporting cultural goods
A licence must be obtained prior to exporting a cultural good falling within a category listed in the Annex to the Regulation if the good:
- was lawfully and definitively located in the territory of Federal Republic of Germany on 1 January 1993; or
- thereafter, was dispatched lawfully and definitively to the Federal Republic of Germany from another Member State; or
- thereafter, was imported from a non-EU country; or
- thereafter, was re-imported from a non-EU country into Germany after lawful dispatch from a Member State to that country.
Jurisdiction and procedures
As a basic principle, export licences for cultural goods leaving the EU internal market are issued upon request by the Land authorities responsible for the protection of cultural property, or the institutions to which they have entrusted the relevant tasks.
Applications must be submitted using the appropriate forms; these forms (which include the address of the authority in question) can be accessed via the authority finder.
Monitoring of compliance with the export regulations and rules on penalties
The provisions of customs law grant powers of inspection to ensure compliance with the export regulations.
The Regulation requires that the Member States lay down national rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of the Regulation. The criminal offences enshrined in the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, AO) apply in this respect.