Effective January 15, 2025, General Export Authorizations (GAs) No. 13 and No. 25 will be expanded to permit the export of dual-use and military goods in connection with capacity-building measures undertaken by the German Federal Government. Furthermore, additional military goods will be included in GA No. 33. In the area of dual-use goods, new GAs will be issued for (re-)exports following maintenance or repair, for replacement purposes, and for intra-group software and technology exports.

On December 10, 2024, two general rulings issued by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) came into force, which are important for numerous exporting companies. Firstly, BAFA relaxed its previous formal requirements for end-use documents, particularly regarding the previously mandatory handwritten signature. Secondly, it published two new form templates to be used for applying for export licenses for goods subject to export control regulations to Russia and Belarus.

Significant changes to the reporting requirements (§§ 63 ff. AWV) came into force on January 1, 2025, and must be observed for the first time for the reporting month of January 2025. In particular, the legislator raised the reporting thresholds and partially standardized reporting deadlines. Furthermore, clarifications were made regarding the transfer of crypto assets, and changes were made to the reporting obligations for interest payments on foreign bonds and money market instruments.

For many years, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) was responsible for legal disputes concerning the Customs Code, the Customs Nomenclature, and emissions trading. These disputes will now be decided by the General Court of the European Union.

Broad interpretation of the scope of the “duty of effort” in Article 8a of the Russia embargo regulation (EU) No 833/2014 – Russian subsidiaries should also be covered.