FAQ on weapons and dual-use goods

Only people domiciled in the Brussels Capital Region and the businesses that have their registered office in the Region.

The formalities must be carried out by the importer or exporter, that is, the natural or legal person who owns the goods.

In case of transit, the application must be filed by a forwarder established in the Brussels Capital Region, insofar as the company statutes allow this.

This is every movement of goods that are imported, exported or transferred permanently.

Are grouped together in the "transfer" category: the import and export within the European Union.

Goods that are imported, exported or transferred temporarily for the following reasons:

TF = repair or transformation in Belgium; 
TAF = repair or transformation abroad; 
ITI = exhibition, demonstration, fair, etc. in Belgium; 
STU = exhibition, demonstration, fair, etc. abroad; 
NOKE = notification of temporary export for hunting or sport shooting (outside the EU).

These goods have to be re-imported or re-exported within a year.

Licences can be renewed for one year counting from the date on which the first licence was issued, for the remaining quantities, weight and value. Along with this application, you must send us the (nearly) expired licence.

Apply to the Federal Public Service Finance (Customs Tariff) - da.manregional.bxl@minfin.fed.be or on the Tarbel website: External linkhttp://tarweb.minfin.fgov.be. 

There is transit when goods are exclusively brought to the Belgian territory to be transported to another country (with the exception of transfers between two EU member states), in one of the following ways:

• They are transhipped from one means of transport to another;
• They are unloaded from one means of transport and then again loaded onto the same means of transport (for instance to be stored in customs). Simply crossing Belgium without load changes does not require a transit licence.

The specific knowledge required for "developing, producing or using a product; this knowledge is transmitted through the technical documentation or the technical assistance":

• Technical assistance: assistance that could take the form of: instructions, practical methods, training, applied knowledge as well as consultant services, and can imply the transfer of "technical documentation";
• Technical documentation: data that can be presented in the form of plans, diagrams, mock-ups, formulas, spreadsheets, engineering drawings and specifications, manuals and instructions in writing or on media or devices such as disks, magnetic tape, read-only memory, etc.

This also covers oral technology transfers.

The procedure and the processing of the application are free services offered by the Brussels Capital Region.

You do not need to apply to our services within the BENELUX for a licence if the end destination is the BENELUX. If the end destination is outside of the BENELUX, a licence or authorisation will be required.

The following arms are considered as available over the counter, and therefore do not require a licence:

• Edged weapons, such as kitchen knives, daggers, folding knives and blowpipes;
• Cold weapons (ranged weapons that do not use gunpowder) such as catapults, crossbows and bows, paintball markers, "airsoft" arms, licensed starting pistols and slaughter equipment;
• Historical, folkloric and decorative arms (see below);
• Neutralised arms, which means arms that have been made inapt for shooting. Only the Liège test bench can neutralise arms in our country.

On request, the Licence Cell can deliver a certificate that the goods or technology in question are not covered by the legislation.

• Complete portable weapons;
• Their parts and spare parts;
• Their (optical, etc.) accessories;
• Their munition and munition parts;
• Military material;
• The related technology.

• Arms charged by the breech, the barrel muzzle or at the front of the cylinder, exclusively with blasting powder or cartridges with blasting powder with separated priming, of which the model or patent predates 1890 and which was manufactured before 1945;
• Arms exclusively using cartridges with blasting powder with separated priming, of which the model or patent predates 1890 and which was manufactured before 1945;
• Arms that are carried during folkloric marches or historical re-enactments, insofar as it concerns single-shot smooth-bore muzzle-loading long guns or handguns with blasting powder, with separated priming through a flintlock/percussion cap;
• Arms made before 1895. These arms are available over the counter, but require a licence.

The material mentioned in article 3, § 1 of the law dated 8 June 2006 (such as automatic firearms, silencers, truncheons, sprays, tasers, throwing knives, nunchucks, throwing stars, etc.).
Special attention will be paid to visor equipment adaptable to arms. Among these, the following are considered forbidden:

• Visor equipment lighting up the target;
• Visor equipment with an image converter or an electronic image amplifier;
• Night visor equipment;
• Laser visor equipment projecting a point or beam onto the target.

Importing, exporting and the transit of forbidden material is prohibited.
However, certain exemption schemes exist in the frame of selling to the police and the army. In that precise situation, the importer must sign a commitment listing a series of conditions that have to be met to ensure that the prohibited material will only serve for a demonstration to the police and the army and will be re-exported or destroyed if the public contract is not awarded to the importer.

Before you submit your applications to our service, you need to possess a weapons permit for the weapon(s) in question.

It can either be:

• a sport shooter's permit;
• a valid Belgian hunter's permit;
• a hunter's permit from another country in the European Union, along with the “Model 9” form delivered by Brussels Prevention and Security's Arms Department (armes.wapens@bps.brussels);
• a “Model 4” form, delivered by the province governor's services;
• an arms collector licence;
• an arms dealer licence.

Arms dealers or companies, prior to the first application for an export or transit licence. Private individuals are exempt.

A simplified procedure exists exclusively for transactions between a Belgian arms dealers and a foreign arms dealer.

The arms dealer must be able to justify a certain number of foreign transactions. The granting of this open licence depends on the Licence Cell’s assessment of the situation.

To obtain such a pass, you can apply to the Arms Department of Brussels Prevention and Security (armes.wapens@bps.brussels).

You do not need to apply for import and export licences for the firearms and ammunition listed on the European Firearms Pass if you are travelling within the European Union, provided that you can demonstrate, by means of an invitation or any other proof, that you are really transferring these firearms in order to participate personally in hunting or sport shooting activities.

An IIC is a document granted by the Licence Cell to a Brussels company so as to allow the authorities of its supplier to deliver the supplier an export or transit permit. Therefore, it represents the official agreement of the BRPS for a product to be imported into Belgium. This document does not exclude the obligation of an import licence!

The goods referred to in the European Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 of 5 May 2009 and its modifications.

Each of these terms presents a different reality. The Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 defines these in the following way:

Export:

It concerns:
 

1. An export procedure in the sense of article 161 of the regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (Community Customs Code).
2. A re-export procedure in the sense of article 182 of this code, with the exception of goods in transit.
3. The transmission of software or technology by electronic means, which includes by fax, telephone, e-mail or any other electronic medium, to a destination outside of the European Community; this includes making software and technology available in an electronic version to individuals or legal entities and partnerships outside of the Community. This definition also applies to the oral transmission of technology when the technology is described over the telephone.

Transit:

This concerns the transport of dual-use goods from a non-EU member state entering the customs territory of the Union and crossing it to a destination outside of the Union.

Transfer:

This concerns movements of dual-use goods within the Community for the goods mentioned in annex IV of the Regulation (EC) No 428/2009.

These licences are valid for a year. After this period, the documents must be renewed with the Licence Cell.

The date on which the validity of these permits start is the date mention on the certificate or licence. However, these permits can be temporarily suspended, even withdrawn, due to the geopolitical situation.

In that case, the permit holder must return the original document to the Licence Cell without delay.

No. The Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 only concerns the export, transit and transfer of dual-use goods and technology.

Brokering consists of trading transactions in order to achieve the export of goods. Classically, it is a matter of exporting goods situated abroad with a destination abroad. The company or individual then acts as an intermediary to move the goods, which are not in Belgium.

Brokering dual-use goods and technologies does not fall within the regional field of competence. It is a federal matter.

In principle, no export licence is required for dual-use goods and technology moving between EU member states (we call that a transfer). As a matter of fact, the European Union must be seen as one geographic entity. Licences are only required when the goods leave the territory of the Union. However, certain goods mentioned in annex IV of the Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 require export permits.

On request, the Licence Cell can deliver a certificate that the goods or technology in question are not covered by the legislation.