Law N° 88/1998 ex 1089/1939

(to be consulted on Gazzetta Ufficiale of Italian Republic)
SHORT ISTRUCTIONS OF THE IMPORT AND EXPORT PROCEDURES

Import of Contemporary Works of Art

Export of Antique Works of Art
     (more than 50 years )

Export of antique Works of Art
     (more than 50 years) Non E.E.C. countries

Import of Antique Works
      Non E.E.C. countries

 Those planning to ship or export* Contemporary Works of Arts in this category shall declare themselves by Autocertificazione (Self Certification)to be compliant with the relevant applicable laws relating to works other than those governed by Law 1089/39.

The Self Certification should be in duplicate .A photograph of the work should be attached to each copy.

An indication of the value or destination of the work is not required.

It is not necessary to show the work itself to the Ufficio Esportazione (Office of Export)

The Self Certification may be given to any public official authorised to recive it (for example, any municipal administration, notary, authorized customs official or even the Office of Export custom prefers the latter).

*The sole exeption to this is a work more than 50 years old to be exported to a non E.E.C. Country and produced by a living artist if oven the value thereshold when owned by the artist mentioned in the Self Certification.

However if the exporter is an Art Gallery or private individual a Comunity Licence is required.

This will be issued without further evaluation,since it concens items not governed by Law N°1089/39.

For this reason, ti is not necessary to apply for a certificate of free movement.

* "Ship" is inside E.E.C. Countries
   "Export" is outside E.E.C. Countries

E.E.C. countries

Anyone planning to ship or export works in this category should have a copy of the

Attestato di Libera Circolazione (Certificate of Free Circulation)for each work.

A declaration of the item for export or application for the Certificate of Free Circulation should be completed in duplicate on stamped paper of £.20.000

(The declaration may relate to a single work or to several works).

The application should be accompanied by four photographs.

The work should be shown physically to the Office of Export It is no longer stamped or plombed since the office must send its reply between fifteen and forty days of receipt

The Certificate of Free Circulation is a type of passport for the work of art.It is drawn up in triplicate.The necessary forms are not yet avaible, however, and Mod.20 is still being used at present (one for each work of art).

The work, together with the three copies of the declaration and the four photographs, is taken to the Office of Export, wich proceds with the verification of the declared market value.

The Office of Export completes a report in which it expreases its opinion as to whether or not the work may be exported.This report is sent to the Ministero dei Beni Culturali (Ministry of Cultural Assets).

The Office of Export should send to the relevant Central Office a photograph of the work to be exported, together with the respective declaration, within three days.

The Central Office's reply should be recived within the next fifteen to forty days (the Ministry has stated that if a reply to the negative is not formalised within ten days of receipt a positive verdict should be inferred to arrive within forty days).

In the event that the application for export is refused a period of thirty days is granted to appeal to the Ministry (in addition to the normal juridictional recourse).

The Ministy may exercise a right of opinion otherwise known as compulsory  purchase when the certificate is requested.

The Certificate of Free Circulation is issued fifteen to forty days from receipt of the declaration

Therefore, the application to export a work of art more than fifty years old should be submitted three months in advance.

The Certificate of Free Circulation is valid for three years It is the only document required to export a work of art to another Member State in the European Union.The document is also valid for export to non E.E.C. countries of works excluded from the field of application of E.E.C. regulation N°3911/92,that is:

Works exceeding the values set out by E.E.C. Regulation N°3911/92

 Certificate of Free Circulation and Community Licence

In addition to Certificate of Free Circulation a Community Licence must also be obtained in order to export a work that exceeds the aforementioned parameters to non E.E.C. country (e.g. Switzerland or the United States).

It is no longer necessary to produce the work itself in order to obtain the Community Licence, merely presenting the Certificate of Free Circulation is sufficient.

The Comunity Licence is valid for six months.It is only granted once the Certification has been presented. It is not granted in cases where less than six months remain until the Certificate expiries.

(Sanctions are in place for those who do not sumbit the third copy of the Community Licence to the Office of Export).

Import of Contemporary Works of Art

The procedure has not changed with regard to imports.

In a community context, those importing works into Italy are not bound by obligations.

However, Italian galleries or private individuals should complete the self Certification process before returning works imported into Italy.

Certificate of import or shipment in Italy
(replaces the former Licenza di Temporanea Importazione Artistica Licence for Temporary Import of Works of Art)

The Certificate of Import is optional within the European Union.However,where necessary, the Certificate of Import may be required in Italy.By law and to all intents and pourposes,this replaces the Certificate of Free Circulation

It is valid for five years,and is no longer renewable.

The shipper must complete the Self Certification procedure if the type or value of the work prevents this from being defined as a cultural asset (E.E.C. regulation n°3911/92)

For this type of document, the following are required:

A declaration by the shipper,certified by a public official or notary in the country of departure of the item.

The Italian importer may apply for the Certificate of Import by a producing the work for inspection to the Office of Export along with:

The form,completed in triplicate.

An application on stamped paper (£.20.000)

A declaration of receipt of shipment

Two photograph of the item for identification purposes

However, if the work can be defined as a cultural asset, the shipper should transport it accompanied by the Licence of Export from the E.E.C. country of origin.

The importer of the asset can use the valid Licence of Export to ship the work anywere in the European Community.

If the licence expires when the work is in italy, the latter should be deemed of Italian origin and should this comply with the regulations of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Assets.

Since the imported item is subject to clearance by Italian Custom a certificate of Import may be requested from the customs office.

This is valid for five years and is not renewable.

Temporary Exportation License for works of Art which are travelling for Official Exhibitions

Relevent only for works of art which have been notified or are of public property according to law 1089/1939.

Cultural assets whose export licenses have been vetoed, are free to circulate under a Temporary Export License only if a fidejussion or guarantee is in place with a bank or broker for a value of at least 10% of the value of work of art.

If the time limit is exceded, and therefore the work of art is not re-imported,the security is seized by the governament.

An official request on behalf of the persons organizing the exhibition must include information regarding the Exhibition, a list of the works of art included in the exhibition as well as a list of the proprietors.

The organizers must also guarantee that all the works of art will be returned promptly.

This procedure must be initiated 3-4 months before shipment so that the commitee has time to decide.

Export duty on items for export to non E.E.C. countries

The law no longer prescribes payment of this duty.

This information is based on the situation that came into force on 1^st October 1998

Since the regulations are currently being defined this information is subject to change or alteration by the Ministry of cultural assets pending the definitive application of these regulations.

Please contact always in advance your fine art shipper that have the correct informations in order to avoid any problems or delays.