Regulation (EC) No 273/2004

In force

This text since 18 Sept 2026law://eu/reg/2004/273/art_4@2026-11-14

Contents

Article 4Customer declaration#

1.Without prejudice to paragraph 4 of this Article, and to Articles 6 and 14, any operator established within the Union who supplies a customer with a scheduled substance of category 1 or 2 of Annex I shall obtain a declaration from the customer which shows the specific use or uses of the scheduled substances. The operator shall obtain a separate declaration for each scheduled substance. That declaration shall conform to the model set out in point 1 of Annex III. In the case of legal persons, the declaration shall be made on headed notepaper.

2.As an alternative to the above declaration for an individual transaction, an operator who regularly supplies a customer with a scheduled substance of category 2 of Annex I may accept a single declaration in respect of a number of transactions involving this scheduled substance over a period not exceeding one year, provided that the operator is satisfied that the following criteria have been met:

(a)the customer has been supplied by the operator with the substance on at least three occasions in the preceding 12 months;

(b)the operator has no reason to suppose that the substance will be used for illicit purposes;

(c)the quantities ordered are consistent with the usual consumption for that customer.

This declaration shall conform to the model set out in point 2 of Annex III. In the case of legal persons, the declaration shall be made on headed notepaper.

3.An operator supplying scheduled substances of category 1 of Annex I shall stamp and date a copy of the declaration, certifying it to be a true copy of the original. Such copy shall always accompany those substances being moved within the Union and shall be presented on request to the authorities responsible for checking vehicle contents during transport operations.

4.The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 15a concerning the requirements and conditions for obtaining and using customer declarations.

Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.

Key facts

Type: Regulation · (EC) No 273/2004 · EEA relevant
Adopted: 11 Feb 2004
In force: 18 Feb 2004
Applies from: 18 Aug 2005
Text current to: 18 Sept 2026
Made by: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Official: EUR-Lex 32004R0273 · ELI

Topics

administrative cooperation drug addiction drug traffic intra-EU trade labelling market approval psychotropic substance Approximation of laws Chemicals and related Internal market - Principles Public health

History · 1 version

18 Sept 2026Reading
changed by Regulation (EU) No 1258/2013

Connections

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Amended by 1: Regulation (EU) No 1258/20133 provisions
Interpreted by the courts in 3: Criminal proceedings against TF (C-806/21); N.F. Gielen and Others (C-369/13); Miguel M. and Others (C-627/13, C-2/14)
Cited by 7: this act4 provisions; Council Regulation (EC) No 111/2005; Council Decision (EU) 2026/15352 provisions; Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/3144 provisions; Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/14756 provisions; Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/13317 provisions; Regulation (EU) 2023/1322

Defined terms · 9

Show every defined term

International Narcotics Control Board
means the Board established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol;
natural product
means an organism or a part thereof, in any form, or any substances which occur in nature as defined in point 39 of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
non-scheduled substance
means any substance which, although not listed in Annex I, is identified as having been used for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances;
operator
means any natural or legal person engaged in the placing on the market of scheduled substances;
placing on the market
means any supply, whether in return for payment or free of charge, of scheduled substances in the Union;
scheduled substance
means any substance listed in Annex I that can be used for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, including mixtures and natural products containing such substances but excluding mixtures and natural products which contain scheduled substances and which are compounded in such a way that the scheduled substances cannot be easily used or extracted by readily applicable or economically viable means, medicinal products as defined in point 2 of Article 1 of Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and veterinary medicinal products as defined in point 2 of Article 1 of Directive 2001/82/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
special licence
means a licence that is granted to a particular type of operator;
special registration
means a registration that is made for a particular type of operator;
user
means a natural or legal person other than an operator who possesses a scheduled substance and is engaged in the processing, formulation, consumption, storage, keeping, treatment, filling into containers, transfer from one container to another, mixing, transformation or any other utilisation of scheduled substances;