As of September 30th 2023 the ban towards the import or purchase of iron and steel products originating or exported from Russia will apply also to import and purchase of those goods processed in third countries using Russian iron and steel inputs. The prohibition is introduced by the Article 3 g, paragraph 1, letter d) of EU Regulation nr. 833/2014 as per last amendment on June 2023.
Products whose import are covered by the ban are listed on Annex XVII of the above-mentioned EU Regulation according to their customs nomenclature code. The prohibition applies from September 30th 2023 for all listed goods except those containing inputs of following Combined Nomenclature codes:
- CN code 7207 11: the ban enters into force on April 1st 2024;
- CN codes 7207 12 10 or 7224 90: the ban enters into force on October 1st 2024;
The restriction is related to goods with CN codes of chapters 72 and 73 and it involves for example flat-rolled products, bars, rods, tubes, structures and parts of structures, tanks, screws, bolts, nuts, radiators, household articles and other products of iron and steel.
For the purposes of the above restriction, the EU Regulation establishes the obligation for importers to provide evidence of the origin of inputs used in the third country processing. At the time of the goods’ release to free circulation in the EU, the importer has to provide all the information regarding the origin of the inputs used to obtain imported products.
The import or purchase of products processed in third countries using Russian steel and iron inputs is prohibited.
The EU Commission FAQs on sanctions against Russia makes available a list of documents that can be provided as a proof of the origin of the inputs used. For semifinished products can be considered sufficient the Mill Test Certificates (MTC). Regarding finished commodities, if all information can’t be reported on one single MTC, the EU importer can provide a document with the name of the country and of the facility corresponding to the heat number, the customs classification number with at least a six digit code and the country and the name of the facility where the other processing operations takes place.
On 22nd September 2023 the Italian Customs Authority published a communication confirming the content of EU Commission FAQs and it extend the list of proof of origin also to any other document that can prove the country of origin of the inputs used in order to create a dossier for the import in EU of listed products.
At the time of the import customs clearance, the EU importer has to confirm that all relevant information regarding the country of origin of inputs used in the third country processing are at disposal of competent authority and that no materials of Russian origin has been used. The Customs Authority may ask for additional evidence if there are doubts about the country of origin of the inputs involved.
