(1)

In accordance with Article 4 of Directive 91/477/EEC, Member States are to ensure either that any firearm or part of a firearm placed on the market has been marked and registered in compliance with that Directive, or that it has been deactivated.

(2)

In accordance with Annex I, Part III, first paragraph, point (a), of Directive 91/477/EEC, objects which correspond to the definition of a ‘firearm’ are not to be included in that definition if they have been rendered permanently unfit for use by deactivation, ensuring that all essential parts of the firearm have been rendered permanently inoperable and incapable of removal, replacement or a modification that would permit the firearm to be reactivated in any way.

(3)

Annex I, Part III, second paragraph, of Directive 91/477/EEC requires Member States to make arrangements for the deactivation measures to be verified by a competent authority in order to ensure that the modifications made to a firearm render it irreversibly inoperable. Member States are also requested to provide for issuance of a certificate or record attesting to the deactivation of the firearm or the apposition of a clearly visible mark to that effect on the firearm.

(4)

The Union is a Party to the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (‘the Protocol’), concluded by Council Decision 2014/164/EU (2).

(5)

Article 9 of the Protocol lists the common general principles of deactivation that Parties have to comply with.

(6)

The standards and techniques for the irreversible deactivation of firearms laid down in this Regulation have been established with the technical expertise of the ‘Permanent International Commission for firearms testing’ (CIP). The CIP has been set up to verify the activities of national firearms proof houses and, in particular, to guarantee the presence in each country of laws and regulations to assure the efficient and uniform testing of firearms and ammunition.

(7)

To ensure the highest level of security possible for the deactivation of firearms, the Commission should regularly review and update technical specifications laid down in this Regulation. To this effect, the Commission should take into account the experience acquired by the Member States when applying any additional deactivation measures.

(8)

This Regulation is without prejudice to Article 3 of Directive 91/477/EEC.

(9)

Taking into account the risk as regards the security, firearms deactivated prior to the date of application of this Regulation and which are placed on the market, including transmission for free, exchange or barter, or transferred to another Member State after that date should be subject to the provisions of this Regulation.

(10)

Member States should have the possibility to introduce measures additional to the technical specifications set out in Annex I to deactivate firearms in their territory provided they have taken all necessary measures to apply the common deactivation standards and techniques provided for by this Regulation.

(11)

In order to provide a possibility for the Member States to ensure the same level of security within their territory, Member States which introduce additional measures to deactivate firearms in their territory in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation should be allowed to require proof that deactivated firearms to be transferred to their territory comply with those additional measures.

(12)

In order for the Commission to be able to take into account developments and best practices in the Member States in the field of firearms deactivation when reviewing this Regulation, Member States should notify to the Commission the relevant measures they adopt in the field covered by this Regulation and any additional measures they introduce. For that purpose, the notification procedures of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) should apply.

(13)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Directive 91/477/EEC,

(a)

it is clearly visible and irremovable;

(b)

it bears information on the Member State where the deactivation has been carried out and the verifying entity that certified the deactivation;

(c)

the original serial number(s) of the firearm are maintained.