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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/2/10

24 August 2010

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 381/2010

European Union (EU)* : Restriction on the Marketing and Import of Seal Products

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 561/2009 of 6 November 2009, the European Commission (the Commission) has adopted a Regulation concerning the implementation rules on the trade in seal products. Details are set out in Commission Regulation (EU) No. 737/2010 (the Regulation), which can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:216:0001:0010:EN:PDF

DETAILS

  1. The Regulation specifies the detailed rules on the import and the placing on the EU market of seal products. Under the Regulation, import of seal products for the personal use of travellers or their families is only allowed when one of the following requirements is met: 

  1. the seal products are either worn by the travellers, or carried or contained in their personal luggage;
     

  2. the seal product are contained in the personal property of a natural person transferring his residence place from a third country to the EU; 
     

  3. the seal products are acquired in a third country by the travellers and imported into the EU at a later date, provided that upon arrival to the EU, the travellers present the following documents to the customs authorities:

    - a written notification of import; and
    - a document giving evidence that the products were acquired in the third country concerned;

Upon importation, the written notification and the document shall be presented to the customs authorities with the customs declaration for the products concerned. The customs authorities shall endorse the notification and the document and return them to the travellers.

  1. Under Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1007/2009, seal products resulting from hunts by Inuit or other indigenous communities, and those resulting from marine resources management can still be placed on the market. Under the current Regulation, seal products resulting from hunts by Inuit or other indigenous communities have to satisfy all the conditions below for placing on the market: 

  1. the Inuit or other indigenous communities has/have the tradition of seal hunting in the community and in the geographical region; 
     

  2. the products of seal hunts are at least partly used, consumed or processed within the communities according to their traditions; and
     

  3. the seal hunts contribute to the subsistence of the community.

  1. For seal products resulting from hunts in relation to marine resources management, the products have to prove satisfying all the following conditions: 

  1. the seal hunt is conducted under a natural or regional natural resources management plan which uses scientific population models of marine resources and applies the ecosystem-based approach; 
     

  2. the seal hunt does not exceed the total allowable catch quota established under the plan in (i) above;
     

  3. the by-products of the seal hunts are placed on the market in a non-systematic way on a non-profit basis.

  1. At the time of the placing on the market, the seal products mentioned in paras. 3-4 above have to be accompanied by attesting documents issued by recognised bodies. Samples of the attesting document are set out in the Annex of the Regulation. 

ENQUIRIES

  1. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,




(Miss Peggy LEUNG)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.




　

Note ：

  • (1) While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.
  • (2)The biweekly newsletter "Business Alert - EU" of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council provides up-to-date information on the latest developments in EU trade policy and trade regulations. The newsletter is available for free e-subscription and can be accessed through
    http://www.tdctrade.com/alert/eualert.htm.