Open General Export Licence
Export of Dual-Use items to EU Member States
December 2020

Open General Export Licence
(Export of Dual-use items to EU Member States)
Dated 31 December, granted by the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State hereby grants the following Open General Export Licence under
article 26(4) of the Export Control Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/3231, as amended) and Article
9(2) and (4) of,—
(a) in relation to England and Wales and Scotland, Council Regulation (EC) No
428/2009 of 5 May 2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of
exports, transfer, brokering and transit of dual-use items (EUR 2009/428, as
amended).
(b) in relation to Northern Ireland, Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 of 5 May
2009 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports, transfer, brokering
and transit of dual-use items (OJ No. L 134, 29.5.2009, p. 1, as amended) as it has
effect by virtue of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in the EU withdrawal
agreement.

In this licence where there is reference to “the Regulation”, in respect of items located in
England, Wales or Scotland it means (a) above and in respect of items located in
Northern Ireland it means (b) above.
Licence
1. Subject to the following provisions of this licence, any items specified in
Schedule 1 hereto, may be exported from England, Wales or Scotland to any
destination specified in Schedule 2.
2. Subject to the following provisions of this licence, any items specified in Schedule
1 hereto, may be exported from Northern Ireland to any destination specified in
Schedule 3
Exclusions
3. This licence does not authorise the export of items:
(1) if the exporter has been informed by the Secretary of State that
they are or may be intended, in their entirety or in part:
(a) for use in connection with the development, production,
handling, operation, maintenance, storage, detection,
identification or dissemination of chemical, biological or
nuclear weapons, or other nuclear explosive devices or the
development, production, maintenance or storage of missiles
capable of delivering such weapons,
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(b) for use as parts or components of military items listed in
the schedule 2 of the Export Control Order 2008 that have been
exported from the United Kingdom without authorisation or in
violation of an authorisation set out in the UK legislation;
(2) if the exporter is aware that the items in question are intended,
in their entirety or in part, for any of the uses referred to in subparagraph (1);
(3) if the exporter has grounds for suspecting that the items in question
are or may be intended, in their entirety or in part, for any of the
uses referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(a), unless the exporter has
made all reasonable enquiries as to their proposed use and is
satisfied that the items will not be used for any of the uses referred
to in sub-paragraph (1)(a);
(4) to a destination within a Customs Free Zone; or
(5) if the exporter knows that the final destination of the items concerned is
outside the destinations listed in Schedule 2 and no processing or working
is to be performed in a destination listed in Schedule 2, unless the direct
export to the final destination would be permitted under a retained
general authorisation, an open general export licence, or an individual
export licence granted by the Secretary of State to the exporter.
(6) where the exporter has, at the time of export, been served with
a notice which suspends or revokes his ability to use this
licence pursuant to article 32(1) of the Order, unless the period
of suspension or revocation has expired.
Conditions and Requirements
4. The authorisation in paragraph 1 is subject to the following conditions:
(1) except in the case of an export of technology by telephone, fax or
other electronic media, official and commercial export
documentation accompanying the items shall include a note stating
either:
(a) “These items are being exported under the OGEL
(Export of Dual-use items to EU Member States)”; or
(b) the SPIRE reference (in the form ‘GBOGE 20XX/XXXXX’)
of the exporter’s registration in respect of this licence,
which shall be presented to an officer of HM Border Force if so
requested;
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(2) The requirements of Article 28 of the Order apply to this
licence.
(3) You must keep records of each export or transfer made under
this licence as set out in article 29 of the Order.
(4) You must complete, in full, the pre-visit questionnaire (PVQ)
which you receive before an audit visit by the Department for
International Trade (DIT) and return it by the date given in the
letter that came with it.
(5) Where the exporter has received a warning letter sent on behalf of
the Secretary of State which identifies failure to comply with this
licence or a provision of applicable export control legislation, the
exporter shall take such steps as are identified in that warning
letter (within the timescale stated) in order to restore compliance
with the licence. Without prejudice to article 34 of the Order,
failure to comply with this condition may result in this licence
being revoked or suspended until the exporter can show
compliance to the satisfaction of the Department for
International Trade (DIT). The exporter will be notified in writing
of any such suspension or revocation and the initial period of
such suspension or revocation. Where at the end of this initial
period, the exporter has not shown compliance to the satisfaction
of DIT, the period of suspension or revocation may be extended.
The exporter will be notified of such an extension in writing.
(6) The Secretary of State has the power to vary or withdraw export
licences at any time. If you do not use this licence within any 24-
month period for an export allowed by this licence, your
entitlement to use it will automatically run out at the end of that
24-month period and your registration details will be removed
from SPIRE. However, you can register for this licence again if you
want to use it after your registration has ended.
(7) For exports of items covered by Category 0 made under the
authority of this licence, notice must be given to the Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy prior to the export
taking place (as early as known), and when each
shipment is made. These notifications should detail the items to
be exported, the proposed date of export, consignee and end-user
details, and the weight of any material being exported. Notification
should be sent by email to nsg.transfers@beis.gov.uk. Additional
information may be requested if required.
Prohibitions not affected by this licence
5. Nothing in this licence affects any prohibition or restriction on the export
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of any items other than under the Regulation or Order, and this licence
does not confer any licence or permission under, or for the purposes of,
any enactment other than the Retained Regulation and the Order.
Interpretation
6. For the purpose of this licence:
(1) “Customs Free Zone” means a part of the territory of a country where any
goods introduced are generally regarded, insofar as import duties and
taxes are concerned, as being outside the customs territory of that country,
and are not subject to the customs controls that would otherwise apply;
(2) “entry” includes part of an entry; and
(3) unless the context otherwise requires, any other expression used in
this licence has the same meaning as in the Regulation or the Order as
appropriate.
Entry into Force
7. This licence comes into force at 23:00 on 31 December 2020.
An Official of the Department for International Trade,
authorised to act on behalf of the Secretary of State
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SCHEDULE 1
ITEMS CONCERNED
• All entries specified by Annex I of the Regulation, other than those specified by
Annex IIg of the Regulation.
SCHEDULE 2
DESTINATIONS CONCERNED
This export authorisation is valid for exports to the following destinations:
• European Union Member States as follows: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden
• The Channel Islands
SCHEDULE 3
DESTINATIONS CONCERNED
• The Channel Islands
• Isle of Man
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EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the licence)
1. This Open General Export Licence is open for registration but does not
come into force until 23:00 on 12 April 2019.
2. This Open General Export Licence permits, without further authority but subject
to certain conditions, the export from England, Wales or Scotland, to any
destination listed in Schedule 2 or Schedule 3, the items specified in Schedule 1
to the licence and the export from the Northern Ireland, to any destination listed
in Schedule 3, the items specified in Schedule 1 to the licence
3. The Export Control Order 2008 (“the Order”) contains certain registration
and record keeping requirements which apply to persons using this licence.
(a) Under Article 28 of the Order, an exporter who exports items under the
authority of this licence must, before or within 30 days after the first
occasion he makes use of the licence, provide details to the Secretary of
State of his name and the address where copies of the records referred
to above may be inspected. This notification must be made via the
Export Control Organisation’s electronic licensing system, SPIRE, at
www.spire.trade.gov.uk. Persons who registered to use this licence prior
to it coming into force do not need to re-register. Registrations are
carried over to the current in force version of this licence.
(b) Under Article 29 of the Order, any person established in the United
Kingdom who exports items from the United Kingdom or another
Member State under the authority of this licence must maintain and
retain certain records relating to each such export for at least three years
from the end of the calendar year in which the export takes place, and
must permit such records to be inspected and copied by any person
authorised by the Secretary of State.
4. The Secretary of State has the power to suspend, vary or revoke licences at any
time and in such circumstances and on such terms as he/she thinks fit. If an
exporter receives written notice to this effect, he will be prevented from relying
on this licence. The power to suspend may be used either in addition or as an
alternative to criminal prosecution. Suspension may occur for example where an
exporter is being investigated or prosecuted in relation to a possible criminal
offence or has been found guilty of a criminal offence under the export control
legislation. It may also be used in situations where an exporter has breached the
conditions of the licence and failed to take corrective action within a reasonable
period (see condition 4(2)).
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5. Where DIT identifies failures in compliance with licence conditions or the
legislation during a compliance visit DIT may send a warning letter to the
exporter listing the improvements that need to be made to ensure compliance.
The letter will set out the timeframe within which these improvements must
be completed. Failure to complete these improvements may lead to the
exporter’s ability to use the licence being suspended for a period of time.
6. The exporter may apply for Standard Individual Export Licences during the
period of suspension. Suspension will not automatically prevent him from using
another OGEL so long as he meets all its terms and conditions and that he has
not received a letter suspending or revoking his ability to use that licence.
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