Dezernat I

Export Control

Science, research and teaching are free. Are they? Not completely. The freedom of science is restricted by conflicting constitutional law. Export control regulations are intended to reconcile Germany's security interests with the freedom of research.

German and European export control regulations aim at preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the uncontrolled transfer of armaments and the use of sensitive goods in human rights violations or terrorist activities.

In an academic context, export control may be relevant, for example, in the case of research cooperations with foreign partners, cooperations with visiting scientists at one's own institute, taking scientific equipment along when travelling abroad or even publications.

The University's Export Control Office will be happy to advise you on questions regarding the handling of goods, the classification of technology, technical assistance and the hiring of persons from socalled third countries. It is the central point of contact for all questions concerning foreign trade law at the University of Ulm. It clarifies requirements for legal permits and, if necessary, also contacts the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.

In addition, University's staff may need to ask advice from the Commission "Responsibility in Science" of the University of Ulm in certain cases, as well.

FAQs

Within the EU, there are only few restrictions:

The recipient and its institution must not be included in personal sanctions lists. You must check this at www.finanz-sanktionsliste.de before you send an item and document the result. False positive hits are possible. Please contact the Export Control Office if necessary.

The transfer of dual-use items in Annex IV of the EU Dual-Use Regulation, war weapons and other military equipment of the Export List Part 1 Section A of the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance is subject to authorisation. Please always contact the Export Control Office in such cases.

If you wish to transfer items with US origin, you may have to apply for a licence from the US authorities. Please note that this may also apply to individual components of larger devices. Find out the ECCN number from your vendor or the manufacturer, as this enables us to check the restrictions. Ideally, this classification was already given to you in the quotation when you procured the product. It may also be an EAR99 class item (low technology consumer goods such as car tyres or office furniture). If you have made an end-user statement/end-use statement to the seller, you must notify them of a change. Please then contact the Export Control Office, which will assist in determining the restrictions for the item in question.

The recipient and its institution must not be included in personal sanctions lists. You must check this at www.finanz-sanktionsliste.de before you send an item and document the result. False positive hits are possible. Please contact the Export Control Office if necessary.
If there is an embargo for the country to which you want to ship, please contact the Export Control Office beforehand. Here you will find an overview of the embargoed countries. Caution: Violations of embargoes can result in a prison sentence of a minimum of one year!
Goods with a value of more than € 1,000 or dual-use goods require a customs declaration. You can have a service provider, e.g. a forwarding agent or courier service, represent you. You can get more information about this from customs.
The export of war weapons and other military equipment (Export List Part 1 Section A of the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance) is subject to authorisation. Please always contact the Export Control Office in such cases.
Use the Export List Part 1 Section B of the Foreign Trade and Payments Regulation and Annex I of the EU Dual Use Regulation to check whether the item is a listed dual-use item. Dual-use items can be used for military purposes in addition to their civilian applications, e.g. certain equipment for handling biological substances, beryllium metal, communication cable systems that detect clandestine intrusion, electrolytic cells for generating fluorine or measuring cameras. If you want to ship physical dual-use items (also for the purpose of basic research!), a licence from BAFA is required before shipment. Please allow approx. three months for this and contact the Export Control Office in good time beforehand.
There are also restrictions for non-listed goods. Non-listed goods may not be used for sensitive purposes. If you have indications that the recipient or its institution intends to use the goods for   
-    the development, production, handling, operation, maintenance, storage, detection, identification or proliferation of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and missiles for this (Art. 4 para. 1 lit. a EU Dual-Use Regulation),
-    a military end-use if the purchasing country or country of destination is an arms embargo country (Art. 4 para. 1 lit. b EU Dual-Use Regulation),
-    the use of non-listed goods for digital surveillance in connection with internal repression and/or the commission of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (Art. 5 EU Dual-Use Regulation), or  
-    the operation of a nuclear facility in nine countries of destination (Article 9 AWV),
contact the Export Control Office.  We are obliged to inform the BAFA, which decides whether a permit is required.
If you wish to transfer goods with US origin, you may have to apply for a licence from the US authorities. Find out the ECCN number from your vendor or the manufacturer. Ideally, this classification was already given to you in the quotation when you procured the product. It may also be an EAR99 class item (low technology consumer goods such as car tyres or office furniture). If you have made an end-user statement/end-use statement to the seller, you must notify them of a change. In such cases, please contact the Export Control Office quoting the goods classification, which will help to determine the restrictions for the item in question.

 

•    Gefahrgutbeauftragter (dangerous goods officer) of Ulm University
•    Postal Service of Ulm University

The organising institution must not be listed in personal sanctions lists. You must check this at www.finanz-sanktionsliste.de and document this before registering.
If the conference is to be held in or hosted by an embargoed country, please always contact the Export Control Office before registering. Here you will find an overview of the embargoed countries. Caution: Violations of embargoes can result in a prison sentence of a minimum of one year!
Do not present or speak on technology related to military equipment. Do not present or speak on unpublished dual-use technology without consulting the Export Control Office. Ideally, you should only take what you need for the conference with you on your electronic devices. In particular, please do not take any unpublished dual-use research data or results with you on your electronic devices. By doing so, you may be in breach of export control regulations. Note that it does not matter if you want to publish the data in the future! The first internationally accessible publication/presentation constitutes the export control-relevant act.