Drug precursors: operator licence, registration and import or export authorisation

Drug precursors: operator licence, registration and import or export authorisation is filed with Agencia Tributaria, Departamento de Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales (procedimientos de precursores: licencias de actividad, registro de operadores de comercio exterior y autorizaciones de importación y exportación). With Managora you do it 100% online: you answer a few questions, sign a digital mandato (power of representation) and we draft, sign and file your application for you. What we charge you: from €149. Official tasa (government fee): No official fees: neither Ley 4/2009 nor Real Decreto 129/2017 nor the Agencia Tributaria online office sets any fee for the licence, the registration or the import or export authorisation. Not included in the price: the customs declaration for the shipment, which is lodged by your business or by a registered customs representative, and customs duties and import VAT, which customs assesses and you pay.

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We handle with the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT, Customs and Excise Department) what your business needs to import or export chemical substances scheduled as drug precursors: the category 1 operator licence (or its renewal), registration in the Registro de Operadores de Comercio Exterior for categories 2 and 3, or the import or export authorisation for a specific shipment. We identify the category of each substance, prepare the application with its supporting documents, file it on your behalf under your authorisation and answer any requests until the decision. The customs declaration for the shipment is not part of this service.

Practical guide: Importing Chemicals into Spain: REACH, CLP Labelling, Drug Precursors and F-Gases. Requirements, deadlines and the steps, explained.

What we charge you: from €149
Managora's fee: €149.00 (21% VAT incl.)
Tasa (official government fee): No official fees: neither Ley 4/2009 nor Real Decreto 129/2017 nor the Agencia Tributaria online office sets any fee for the licence, the registration or the import or export authorisation. Not included in the price: the customs declaration for the shipment, which is lodged by your business or by a registered customs representative, and customs duties and import VAT, which customs assesses and you pay.
Processing time: The licence and the registration must be in place before you start trading. The Agencia Tributaria decides on the licence within 60 working days of the complete application and, if it does not reply within that period, the application is deemed refused; the licence is valid for 3 years, and its renewal is requested in the 3 months before it expires and decided within 30 working days. Registration is decided within 60 working days. The authorisation for each shipment is decided within 15 working days of the complete application, a period that can be extended, and with no reply it is deemed refused: apply well ahead of the shipment.
Where it is filed: Agencia Tributaria, Departamento de Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales (procedimientos de precursores: licencias de actividad, registro de operadores de comercio exterior y autorizaciones de importación y exportación) ↗
What you receive: Application

Cost breakdown: Import or export authorisation for one shipment 149 € (VAT included), for the authorisation of one shipment. Registration in the operators' register (categories 2 and 3) 299 € (VAT included). Category 1 operator licence 499 € (VAT included), including when it is a renewal. No official fees: the Agencia Tributaria charges nothing for these procedures..

Drug precursors: operator licence, registration and import or export authorisation: how is it filed?

1Answer the questions (around 10 minutes) and upload the documents requested.
2If your case does not need this procedure or is handled by another authority, we tell you before you pay.
3Payment: 149 € for the authorisation of one shipment, 299 € for registration in the operators' register and 499 € for the category 1 licence or its renewal (VAT included). No official fees.
4We check the category of each substance, prepare the application on the official form with its supporting documents and send you the authorisation to represent you, to sign on screen.
5We file the application on your behalf with the Customs and Excise Department of the Agencia Tributaria and send you the proof of filing.
6Forward us any request as soon as you receive it: we answer it in time and send you the decision with your licence, registration or authorisation number. The authorisation goes with the customs declaration, which is lodged by your business or by a registered customs representative: we leave the authorisation ready for it.

Which documents do you need?

•Licence or registration: your company's entry in the Registro Mercantil (deed with the registration note, or a nota simple) or, if you are self-employed, your tax census registration.
•Licence or registration: details of the responsible person, with their role and tasks, and the full addresses of the premises.
•Authorisation for a shipment: the order, contract or pro forma invoice and, if you have them, the import permit from the destination country or the customer's end-use statement.
•Safety data sheets for the substances, if you have them.
•Application on the official form and authorisation to represent you: we prepare them and you sign the authorisation on screen.

Prerequisites we also handle for you

And whatever a third party provides, we arrange it

Traducción jurada (sworn translation) into Spanish
Apostilla or legalisation of a foreign document

You do not have to look for anyone: we coordinate it. As it is provided by a third party it is quoted separately and does not go inside the price of this procedure, and we tell you the amount before ordering it.

Legal basis and things to bear in mind

Who needs what (Regulation (EC) No 111/2005): operators established in the European Union that import, export or carry out intermediary activities with category 1 substances need a licence; those doing so with category 2 substances, and those exporting category 3 substances, must be registered. Customs agents and carriers acting solely as such are excluded. The licence registers the operator automatically.
In addition, each export of scheduled substances needs its export authorisation (for category 3, only where a pre-export notification is required), and each import of category 1 its import authorisation, which is not needed if the goods are unloaded or transhipped, are in temporary storage, a free zone or free warehouse, or are under external transit. Customs only processes the transaction if the authorisation is presented with the customs declaration.
Time limits: the licence is decided within 60 working days of the complete application, with refusal by default, and is valid for 3 years; its renewal is requested in the 3 months before expiry and decided within 30 working days. Registration is decided within 60 working days. The authorisation for each shipment, within 15 working days of the complete application, and with no reply it is deemed refused.
Any change to the licence or registration details (address, premises, responsible person, substances) must be notified within a maximum of 10 working days of the change, and some changes require a new licence. The authority may suspend or withdraw the licence or registration if its conditions are no longer met or there is a risk of diversion, and when granting them it assesses the applicant's competence and integrity, in particular the absence of serious or repeated breaches of drug precursor rules and of criminal records for serious offences.
Buying, selling, manufacturing and using precursors within Spain are recorded in a different register: the Registro General de Operadores de Sustancias Químicas Catalogadas of the Ministerio del Interior, managed by the Centro de Inteligencia contra el Terrorismo y el Crimen Organizado (CITCO), and the category 1 licence for those transactions is granted by the Secretario de Estado de Seguridad. They are separate from the foreign trade procedures and are not included in this price.
Importing or exporting drug precursors without the required authorisation may amount to smuggling (contrabando): it is a criminal offence from 50.000 euros in value and, below that, an administrative offence punished with a fine and confiscation of the goods.
A refusal of an authorisation can be challenged with a recurso de reposición or a reclamación económico-administrativa within one month of notification; the Managora law firm handles it, as a separate engagement quoted in advance.

Drug precursors: operator licence, registration and import or export authorisation: frequently asked questions

Drug precursors: operator licence, registration and import or export authorisation: how much does it cost?

We charge you from €149: our fee plus, where applicable, the fixed official tasa we advance. Import or export authorisation for one shipment 149 € (VAT included), for the authorisation of one shipment. Registration in the operators' register (categories 2 and 3) 299 € (VAT included). Category 1 operator licence 499 € (VAT included), including when it is a renewal. No official fees: the Agencia Tributaria charges nothing for these procedures.. Managora's fee is €149.00, 21% VAT included (€123.14 net + €25.86 VAT). The official tasa charged by the authority (a suplido paid on your behalf, no VAT) is: No official fees: neither Ley 4/2009 nor Real Decreto 129/2017 nor the Agencia Tributaria online office sets any fee for the licence, the registration or the import or export authorisation. Not included in the price: the customs declaration for the shipment, which is lodged by your business or by a registered customs representative, and customs duties and import VAT, which customs assesses and you pay..

Drug precursors: operator licence, registration and import or export authorisation: how long does it take?

The licence and the registration must be in place before you start trading. The Agencia Tributaria decides on the licence within 60 working days of the complete application and, if it does not reply within that period, the application is deemed refused; the licence is valid for 3 years, and its renewal is requested in the 3 months before it expires and decided within 30 working days. Registration is decided within 60 working days. The authorisation for each shipment is decided within 15 working days of the complete application, a period that can be extended, and with no reply it is deemed refused: apply well ahead of the shipment.

Drug precursors: operator licence, registration and import or export authorisation: which documents do I need?

You need to have to hand: Licence or registration: your company's entry in the Registro Mercantil (deed with the registration note, or a nota simple) or, if you are self-employed, your tax census registration., Licence or registration: details of the responsible person, with their role and tasks, and the full addresses of the premises., Authorisation for a shipment: the order, contract or pro forma invoice and, if you have them, the import permit from the destination country or the customer's end-use statement., Safety data sheets for the substances, if you have them., Application on the official form and authorisation to represent you: we prepare them and you sign the authorisation on screen.. You do not upload them here: we collect the details through the guided chat.

Who files the procedure?

Managora files it in your name with Agencia Tributaria, Departamento de Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales (procedimientos de precursores: licencias de actividad, registro de operadores de comercio exterior y autorizaciones de importación y exportación). You only provide the details through the chat and sign a mandato (power of representation); we prepare, sign and register it.

Can it be done online?

Yes. The whole process is online: you answer a few questions in the guided chat, sign a simple mandato on screen and receive the receipt and the official documents by email, with full legal validity.

Related procedures

Based on the legislation in force and on the official site of the competent authority: Agencia Tributaria, Departamento de Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales (procedimientos de precursores: licencias de actividad, registro de operadores de comercio exterior y autorizaciones de importación y exportación) ↗.

Managora Gestion SL (company number B88823893) is a private company. We are not Agencia Tributaria, Departamento de Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales (procedimientos de precursores: licencias de actividad, registro de operadores de comercio exterior y autorizaciones de importación y exportación), we are not affiliated with, authorised or endorsed by any public authority, and this website is not an official government portal. What you pay on this page is our fee for preparing, signing and filing the procedure on your behalf: it is separate from the official tasa, which where applicable belongs to the authority and is shown to you separately. You can carry out this procedure yourself, directly with Agencia Tributaria, Departamento de Aduanas e Impuestos Especiales (procedimientos de precursores: licencias de actividad, registro de operadores de comercio exterior y autorizaciones de importación y exportación).

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