Legal update: what does the latest EU Q&A reveal about the New EU Import laws for cultural goods?

As the enforcement date for the European Union's Regulation 2019/880 on the import of cultural goods approaches, recent updates from the European Commission offer some additional insights into the upcoming changes.

As the enforcement date for the European Union’s Regulation 2019/880 on the import of cultural goods approaches, recent updates from the European Commission offer some additional insights into the upcoming changes. The regulation, which takes effect on 28 June 2025, is intended to combat illicit trafficking of cultural goods by imposing stricter import controls. However, while new details have been shared, significant uncertainty remains regarding its practical application.

The European Commission has now published two editions of a ‘Questions & Answers’ document (Q&A) designed to address common queries about the upcoming regulation (available here). These documents aim to provide greater clarity around key elements of the legislation, including:

• what constitutes an “import” under the new framework;
• which cultural goods require an import licence or importer statement; and
• the specific compliance requirements for different categories of objects.

The second edition builds on the first by refining the definition of “cultural goods,” particularly within Categories C and E, with a focus on aspects such as size and portability. This refinement was intended to address confusion raised by the initial publication. To support practical understanding, the Commission also included three hypothetical case scenarios offering guidance on how the rules may be applied in real-world situations. While these efforts represent a step toward clarification, some areas of interpretation remain open-ended, particularly around enforcement procedures.

What the examples do make clear is the critical role provenance will play in meeting compliance standards. Market participants are encouraged to maintain detailed documentation – such as invoices, catalogues, and insurance records – to help verify an object’s history and legitimacy under the new framework and to support the status of an object. We recommend that art market participants familiarise themselves with the Q&A, and supporting examples, before the Regulation takes effect.

We understand that one of the more notable shifts in the regulation is the removal of the phrase “to the best of my belief” from the importer statement. This change increases the personal accountability of individuals making declarations, as they now assume full responsibility for the accuracy of submitted information. Understandably, this has raised questions around who within an organisation should, or would be willing to, take on that level of legal exposure. The compliance burden will be particularly significant for national Ministries of Culture, which will be responsible for enforcement, as well as for auction houses and intermediaries issuing importer statements on behalf of their clients. Although the Regulation was initially expected to distribute oversight more evenly between customs authorities and cultural institutions, the Q&A guidance confirms that much of the responsibility will, in practice, remain with market professionals. In recognition of this, organisations such as Bonhams have already begun staff training in anticipation of the Regulation’s entry into force.

Despite some clarifications being made in the Q&A guidance, certain uncertainties remain. For instance, earlier interpretations of one of the derogations allowed for the import of objects where the country of origin could not be reliably identified, provided the item had been lawfully exported from the last country in which it was located for over five years. However, the most recent guidance suggests that this may no longer be relied upon. Customs authorities now appear to reserve the right to deny import or even confiscate objects in such cases – an interpretation that could significantly alter how the derogation is applied in practice.

At the recent Professional Advisors to the International Art Market (PAIAM) conference in London on 27 March, a significant point of discussion was how the Regulation will impact the UK compared to the EU. Some had hoped Brexit might offer a regulatory advantage, potentially making the UK a more attractive market. However, there is widespread concern that, rather than benefiting, the UK could face indirect repercussions as market activity shifts elsewhere. Some anticipate that business may be pushed toward New York or other art market centres in Asia, with London not immune to the chilling effect the Regulation might have in certain areas of the art market.

Many industry professionals are also arguing that the Regulation would be far less problematic if it applied from the date it takes effect rather than retroactively to align with the 1970 UNESCO Convention enforcement date of 24 April 1972. This is because attitudes to provenance were different in the past, and the new rules will stymie a trade in objects that have been on Western markets for some time.

For example, supporting documentation to listed provenance is usually not provided following an auction sale so it is unreasonable to expect all objects to come with a full pack of supporting documentation. The Q&A does however suggest that information referred to in an auction catalogue could be taken as admissible evidence of legal provenance, even if there is not accompanying documentation to support what has been included in the catalogue, which does in part deal with some of these concerns.

However, as it stands, the Regulation places significant responsibility on current market participants to ensure compliance with rules that may not have been clear at the time of acquisition. The difficulty of determining what paperwork should have been in place at different points in time only compounds this challenge.

With the implementation date fast approaching, art dealers, collectors, and other stakeholders must prepare to comply with these new requirements. Yet, given the limited official guidance and the ongoing ambiguity around certain provisions, the art market may struggle to fully anticipate the impact on its operations.

For a comprehensive analysis of the regulation’s key issues and market concerns, please refer to our original article: Incoming New EU Import Regulation on Cultural Goods

Please note: this article is an update to the summary and analysis of the European Union’s Regulation 2019/880 that we published in April 2024. Please do refer to our previous article here as it summarises the Regulation and provides further background that remains relevant.