End-of-life documents: New requirements and form templates

As part of its efforts to improve export control, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (“BAFA”) has made practical changes to the requirements for end-use documents and published new form templates. The amendments, published in the Federal Gazette on December 9, 2024 (BAnz AT 09 December 2024 B5 and B6), entered into force on December 10, 2024.

Formal Requirements for End-Use Declarations

The previous requirement of a handwritten signature in conjunction with a company stamp has been relaxed by BAFA and adapted to technological developments. From now on, in addition to a handwritten signature, an advanced electronic signature pursuant to Article 26 of the eIDAS Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 is also possible. If the signatory uses an advanced electronic signature, a stamp is no longer required. A stamp can also be omitted with a handwritten signature, provided the issuer and their affiliation with a specific entity are clearly identifiable (e.g., by the letterhead). However, inserting a scanned signature is still not permitted. A further simplification for companies is that the end user can now provide the applicant with the end-use declaration as a digital copy, which the applicant must then forward to BAFA as part of their application. The five-year retention period remains in effect and now applies to the digital document.

No re-export reservation by BAFA for re-exports to approved destinations

The re-export reservation by BAFA provided for in the form templates (requirement of prior approval by BAFA in the case of re-export of the exported goods to a third country) has been further relaxed in some respects. According to the BAFA announcement, re-exports from a third country to a destination covered by a General License no longer require BAFA approval, provided the conditions of the respective General License are met and no exclusion grounds apply. New Form Templates: In parallel with the publication of the new announcements, BAFA has published new, additional form templates on its website. The new form templates C6 and C7 are to be used in the future for applying for licenses for the export of goods subject to export control regulations to Russia: Annex C6 must be used if goods listed in the annexes to the Russia embargo regulation (EU) No. 833/2014 are to be exported to Russia. When applying for an exemption for the export of dual-use goods (Annex I of the Dual-Use Regulation (EU) 2021/821; Part I, Section B of the Export List) to Russia, Annex C7 must now be used instead of Annex C1, which is otherwise used when applying for export licenses for dual-use goods. Previously, only the “EUC for the export to Russia of items related to Annex II of Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014” was available for exports to Russia, but this only allowed for the exceptional export of the items listed in the annexes of the consolidated The goods listed in the Russia Embargo Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014 were not truly suitable. Therefore, it is no longer available on the BAFA website. The new forms C6 and C7 contain, in section G, an assurance from the end user that they will use the goods exclusively for civilian purposes. Furthermore, the end user warrants that the goods will neither be forwarded to the occupied Ukrainian territories without the prior consent of BAFA nor used in connection with LNG projects or the trade or transport of crude oil and petroleum products in third countries. Practical advice: With regard to pending applications for approval, a new end-user certificate generally does not need to be submitted. Even if the customer has already requested an end-user certificate according to the previous forms for an application that has not yet been submitted, it should be sufficient to use this end-user certificate. For all future planned export projects to Russia, the new forms C6 and C7 must be used. There are no separate forms for exports of dual-use goods or goods listed in the annexes to the Belarus Embargo Regulation (EC) No. 765/2006 to Belarus. BAFA recommends using Annexes C6 and C7 in this regard. Furthermore, it is advisable to obtain an end-user declaration in accordance with Annex C6 even for exports of non-listed goods to Russia or Belarus.