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 27 July 2008
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)
 
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Export Licences: Changes in Crown Immunity/Export Waivers, UK Government Defence Contracts

URN No: 04/2257

This document details the changes which have been made in the way letters of Crown Immunity are issued. From January 2004, only letters of Crown Immunity (CI) issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Directorate of Export Services Policy 2 (DESP 2) will be valid for exports of goods owned by the MoD. CIs issued by any other MoD agency, for instance the Defence Procurement Agency or the Defence Logistics Organisation, are no longer valid.

If your current CI was not issued by DESP2 then an application needs to be made for renewal. When making such a request you will have to provide details of the goods involved, the destinations concerned, and the timescales involved in the export. Open-ended CI letters will not be issued. Contact details for DESP 2 are given at the end of this notice.

CIs will only be issued when the MoD owns the goods being shipped overseas and where the MoD holds disposal rights for those goods. They will only be issued in support of MoD programmes when they meet this criteria. If the goods are owned privately then companies will require some form of export licence.

Letters of CI previously issued for the purposes of confirming Crown status on the export of goods owned by the MoD were withdrawn from 30 April 2004, unless already issued by DESP2.

If companies are supporting a UK Defence Contract (eg Eurofighter) they can now apply to DESP 2 for confirmation of eligibility to use the OGEL "Exports in Support of UK Government Defence Contracts". To confirm eligibility DESP 2 will need the following information:

  • Name of the programme involved;
  • Brief description of the goods concerned;
  • Contact details of the commercial manager in the respective IPT at the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) with an extract of the contract from the DPA confirming your involvement in the programme (a single piece of paper is sufficient, not the whole contract);
  • Duration of the contract with the DPA (or the prime contractor if you are a sub-contractor);
  • Sub-contractors should ensure that they provide a letter of support from the prime contractor confirming their involvement in the specific programme. The prime contractor will also have to provide the extract of the contract with the DPA to the sub-contractor to confirm the link with the DPA.

For further information on changes to CIs and the OGEL "Exports in Support of UK Government Defence Contracts" as it relates to the responsibilities of DESP, please contact

Ian Mulvaney
Directorate Export Services Policy 2
3rd Floor, Zone E
Defence Export Services Organisation
St Georges Court
2-12 Bloomsbury Way
LONDON WC1A 2SH

Telephone 020 7305 2511
Fax 020 7305 3218

This note is for information purposes only and has no force in law. Please note that where legal advice is required exporters should make their own arrangements.

 

 

© Crown copyright 2008