Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1239 of 18 May 2016 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the system of import and export licences (Text with EEA relevance)

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(a) ‘declarant’, as defined in Article 5, point (15), of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹);

(b) ‘risk management’, as defined in Article 5, point (25), of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

(c) ‘Union non-customs formality’, as defined in Article 2, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399 of the European Parliament and of the Council (²);

(d) ‘electronic system for agricultural non-customs formalities (ELAN)’ as defined in Article 3, point (b), of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1269 (³);

(e) ‘exporter’, as defined in Article 1, point (19), of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (⁴);

(f) ‘EU CSW-CERTEX’ means the European Union Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange System as defined in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2399;

(g) ‘advanced signature based on a qualified certificate’ means an electronic signature complying with the requirements laid down in Articles 26 and 28 of Regulation (EU) 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁵);

(h) ‘ELAN1L-AGRIM’ defines any import licence issued in accordance with the data model set out in the instructions published in series C of the Official Journal of the European Union, following the rules laid down in Annex I.1 to this Regulation for their use in ELAN;

(i) ‘ELAN1L-AGREX’ defines any export licence issued in accordance with the data model set out in the instructions published in series C of the Official Journal of the European Union, following the rules laid down in Annex I.1 to this Regulation for their use in ELAN;

(j) ‘instructions published in series C of the Official Journal of the European Union’ means the instructions set out in the Notice on the instructions on completing the ELAN1L-AGRIM and ELAN1L-AGREX data models (⁶) published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union that licence issuing authorities shall follow to issue import and export licences in accordance with Annex I.1 to this Regulation;

(k) ‘ELAN (acceptance environment)’ means the electronic system identical to ELAN for the mere purpose of testing the functionality of that system before its actual release as a production environment.

Article 2

Application for and issue of licences

Licences shall be issued either in ELAN or in the national IT applications. Licences issued in national IT applications shall be considered issued and valid to be used for trade only after communication to ELAN, unless otherwise provided for in Articles 21a to 21d.

The competent national issuing authorities shall set the template or data model that economic operators shall use for licence applications.

Article 3

Deadlines

An application received after 13.00 hours Brussels time on a working day shall be deemed to have been lodged on the first working day following the day on which it was actually received.

Where in this Regulation a period for procedures is set, and the opening or closing date is a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday as defined in Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71:

(a) the applicable opening date shall be the following working day and shall start at 0.00 hours, taking account of official office opening hours;

(b) by way of derogation from Article 3(2)(b) and (4) of that Regulation, the applicable closing date shall be the last working day preceding the Saturday, Sunday or public holiday and shall end at 13.00 hours Brussels time. However, in respect of applications for a licence Member States may decide to provide for the necessary working arrangements to allow their submission on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. In that case, the applicable closing date shall be the given Saturday, Sunday or public holiday and shall end at 13.00 hours Brussels time. Where a Member State decides to provide for such working arrangements, it shall publish them.

Point (b) of the first subparagraph shall also apply where the applicable closing date is defined by reference to a specified date and that date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.

Article 4

Economic Operators Registration and Identification number

Applicants or licence issuing authorities may, on the basis of national instructions, mention the EORI number of the applicant, titular holder or transferee in Section 20, provided that the name or identity number in Section 4 or 6 links to the EORI number in Section 20.

Article 5

Amount of the security

Article 6

Extracts

When allowed by the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d, the licence issuing authority may, at the request of the titular holder or transferee, issue extracts if the titular holder or transferee is required to use a licence issued in electronic format in a Member State different than the one where the licence was issued, and not connected to the national electronic system of the issuing Member State or via ELAN.

When allowed by the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d extracts may be issued in printed format using the models set out in Annexes I or I.1.

When allowed by the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d, the licence issuing authority may, at the request of the titular holder or transferee, print out a copy of an extract issued in electronic format if the titular holder or transferee is required to use that extract in another Member State not connected to the national electronic system of the issuing Member State or via ELAN.

Article 7

Period of validity

If pursuant to specific legislation another starting date of the period of validity applies, the licence issuing authority shall additionally indicate that date preceded by the words ‘valid from’ in the boxes of the licences referred to in the first subparagraph.

Article 8

Tolerance and rounding

When calculating quantities, the following rounding rules shall apply:

(a) where the first decimal is five or more, the quantity shall be rounded up to the first higher unit of measurement referred to in Section 17 of the licence. Where the first decimal is less than five, the decimal quantity shall be deleted;

(b) for headage-based quantities, quantities shall be rounded to the next greater whole number of head.

Article 9

Customs declaration

Where the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d allow the competent authorities to issue licences in accordance with Annex I, the customs declaration may refer to the licence issue number indicated in Section 25 of the import licence or Section 23 of the export licence in accordance with Annex I.

Where allowed by the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d, the national electronic systems of the licence issuing authority may allow the customs office to access the electronic licence or extract directly. If direct access is not available, the declarant or the licence issuing authority shall send the licence or extract to the customs office in electronic format.

If, during the transitional periods laid down in Article 6(1) to (4), of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1272 (¹¹), the IT applications of the customs office are not suited for applying the first and second subparagraph of this paragraph or if the customs office has no access to ELAN, licences or extracts may be sent in paper format.

Article 10

Attribution and endorsements

When the Union legislation allow the use of licences on paper, the customs office shall indicate and validate the quantity released for free circulation or exported, or if provided by national administrative rules, validate the quantity indicated by the declarant, in Sections ‘Quantity in figures’, ‘Unit of measurement’ and ‘Quantity in words’, endorse it, and return that copy to the declarant, or, if specific legislation requires so, return that copy to the licence issuing authority.

When the copy of the licence is returned to the licence issuing authorities, the licence issuing authority shall encode in ELAN the quantity released for free circulation or exported, as indicated and validated in the licence, if that was not already done by the customs authorities.

During the transitional periods laid down in Article 6(1) to (4), of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1272, customs authorities shall indicate the remaining quantity on the licence.

If the space for making attributions on paper licences or extracts is not sufficient, the authorities may attach extension pages, validated through allongement stamping.

Article 11

Transfer

In the event of a request for transfer by the titular holder, the transferee's data and the date of the relevant entry shall be entered on the electronic licence in accordance with the instructions published in series C of the Official Journal of the European Union or, in the case of paper licences, in accordance with the Notice for import and export licences for agricultural products. The transfer shall be validated by the licence issuing authority.

In the event of a transfer back to the titular holder, the licence issuing authority shall validate the transfer back and its date on the electronic licence in accordance with the instructions published in series C of the Official Journal of the European Union or, in case of paper licences, in accordance with the Notice for import and export licences for agricultural products.

The transfer or transfer back shall take effect from the date indicated on the licence by the licence issuing authority, which shall fall during the period of validity of the licence.

Article 12

Deposit

Article 13

Integrity and control of the licence, mutual assistance

The first subparagraph shall not apply where it concerns minor or evident errors which the licence issuing authority or competent customs authority can remedy by applying the legislation correctly.

Where on the basis of risk management the authenticity of a paper licence or extract, or entries or endorsements thereon must be verified, the authority concerned shall return the licence or extract, or a photocopy thereof to the competent authorities.

The request for verification and its assessment shall be communicated by electronic means in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 (¹²) using the standard form as set out in Annex III to this Regulation. Authorities may agree on further simplification including direct consultations using the customs office list (COL) published on the Commission's official website.

The requested authority shall ensure that a reply to the requesting authority is sent within 20 calendar days when the authorities are established in the same Member State. Where different Member States are involved, the reply shall be sent within 60 calendar days.

Where, in accordance with the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d of this Regulation or during the periods of temporary unavailability governed by Section 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1272, a licence or extract printed on paper is returned, the competent authority shall, on request, give a receipt to the party concerned, or alternatively note and stamp a date of receipt on a printed copy produced by the party concerned.

Article 14

Fulfilment of the obligation and proof

The right to have the products released for free circulation or to export shall be considered to have been exercised, and the corresponding obligation shall be considered to have been fulfilled, on the day the relevant customs declaration is accepted within the period of validity of the licence and provided that:

(a) in case of release for free circulation, the products are actually released for free circulation;

(b) in case of export, the products have left the customs territory of the Union within 150 calendar days from the day of acceptance of the customs declaration.

In case of unavailability of ELAN, the titular holder or transferee may submit the acceptance of the customs declaration retrieved from the customs database or a self-declaration stating the fulfilment of the obligation. Both documents shall be stamped and signed by customs authorities.

When the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d of this Regulation apply, or during the periods of temporary unavailability governed by Section 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1272, the proof mentioned in the first sub-paragraph of this paragraph shall be either:

(a) the titular holder’s or transferee’s copy of the licence or extract, stamped and signed by customs authorities; or

(b) the exit certification by the customs office of export to the exporter or the declarant referred to in Article 334 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.

The proof referred to in paragraph 4, second subparagraph, point (b), shall be provided and checked as follows:

(a) the exporter or declarant referred to in paragraph 4, second subparagraph, point (b), shall transfer the exit certification to the titular holder, and the titular holder shall submit the proof in paper or electronic format to the licence issuing authority. If the exit certification is annulled due to corrections by the customs office of exit, the customs office of export shall inform the exporter or his customs representative, and the exporter or his customs representative shall inform the titular holder, who shall inform the licence issuing authority accordingly;

(b) the procedure set out in point (a) shall include submission of the Master Reference Number (MRN) concerned as defined in Article 1, point (22), of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (¹³) to the licence issuing authority: (i) if more than one Member State is involved in the export procedure; or (ii) if the customs office of export is in another Member State than that of the licence issuing authority; or (iii) if the MRN is used in the export procedure completed within the Member State where the export declaration was lodged;

(c) the licence issuing authority shall check the information received, including the correctness of the date of exit of the customs territory of the Union, on the basis of risk management. If the MRN and the MRN databank do not enable appropriate checks, customs shall, at the licence issuing authority’s request and on the basis of the MRN concerned, either confirm or correct the date of exit.

If the customs office of export is established in another Member State than the licence issuing authority, the procedures set out in Article 13(6), third subparagraph, apply mutatis mutandis.

Customs and licence issuing authorities may agree that the procedures set out in the first subparagraph are carried out directly between the authorities concerned. Licence issuing authorities may arrange simplified procedures for the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (a).

The competent authority shall retrieve from ELAN the proof of export and exit of the customs territory of the Union within 90 calendar days after the expiry of the licence.

When the transitional rules laid down in Articles 21a to 21d of this Regulation apply, or during the periods of temporary unavailability governed by Section 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1272:

(a) the proof of having the products released for free circulation shall be received by the licence issuing authority within 60 calendar days of the expiry of the period of validity of the licence;

(b) the proof of export and exit of the customs territory of the Union shall be received by the licence issuing authority within 180 calendar days after the expiry of the licence.

If the deadlines provided for in the first, second and third subparagraphs cannot be complied with due to technical problems, the licence issuing authority may, at the request of the titular holder, who shall submit proof to support its request, extend those periods, if necessary, ex post, up to a maximum of 730 calendar days, taking account of Article 24(4) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 (¹⁴).

Article 15

Replacement and duplicate licences or extracts issued during the transitional period laid down in Article 6 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1272 or during the periods of temporary unavailability governed by Section 3 of that Implementing Regulation

For replacement licences under this paragraph a security shall be lodged as set out in Article 5.

If the lost or partially destroyed original licence is found, the titular holder shall return the original licence to the licence issuing authority, who shall release the remaining security for the original licence forthwith.

A replacement licence or extract shall not be issued where the issue of licences or extracts for the product in question is suspended or where it concerns an import or export tariff rate quota.

Where the request concerns a partly or totally destroyed licence or extract issued for products other than those referred to in Article 2(1)(a) and (2)(a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1237, the following conditions shall apply:

(a) the titular holder or transferee shall prove the total or partial destruction to the satisfaction of the licence issuing authority;

(b) the replacement licence or extract shall not be issued if the titular holder or transferee has failed to show that he has taken reasonable precautions to prevent the destruction of the licence or extract, or where the evidence provided by the titular holder is unsatisfactory;

(c) the security to be lodged for the replacement licence or extract shall be 150 % of the security for the original licence, with a minimum of 3 EUR per 100 kilograms or per hectolitre or head, taking account of the balance of the quantity remaining available at the moment of destruction, and of the positive tolerance, if applicable. The balance of security available for the original licence may be used when lodging the security for the replacement licence. Any excess of the security for the original licence compared to the security for the replacement licence, taking into account the remaining available quantity shall be released immediately.

When replacement licences or extracts are issued, the licence issuing authority shall immediately notify the Commission of:

(a) the licence issuing number of replacement licences or extracts issued and the licence issuing number of replaced licences or extracts;

(b) the products concerned with their Combined Nomenclature code (‘CN code’) and their quantity.

The Commission shall inform the Member States thereof.

Where a paper licence or extract is lost or destroyed, and the lost or destroyed document has been used wholly or in part, for the sole purpose of releasing the still outstanding security concerning the release for free circulation or export which were already registered on the original licence, the following conditions shall apply: