Since 2022, the Italian government has introduced Radiometric Controls for Metal Goods Imported into Italy.
What is radiometric monitoring?
Radiometric monitoring is a method of inspecting scrap, semi-finished, and all other metal materials to detect radioactive anomalies.
The full list of items and HS codes falling into this category is available here.
Radioactive measurements are taken near the external walls of a container with specific and very sensitive instruments, which are equipped with a probe that has a sodium iodide
scintillator, to detect even the tiniest radioactive anomalies.
What has happened?
On 1 July 2022, new radiometric surveillance regulations have been introduced for the import of metallic materials (semi-finished or finished products) into Italy, based on the EU Council Directive 2013/59/ EURATOM laying down basic safety standards for protection against dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation.
Certain metallic products are subject to specialised checks that must be conducted by an
authorised external body.
A certificate of inspection must be provided before the import customs declaration can be issued. The certificate of the radiometric controls can be issued in a non-EU country provided that a mutual recognition with this country is in place. Currently the mutual recognition agreement is only held with Switzerland.
What does it mean for Customers?
This Regulatory change affects importers of the listed finished metal products, semi-finished metal products and/or scrap and other waste metal materials into Italy. All our products which contain metal (even if originally produced in Italy) fall into this category.
Each shipment must be inspected, there is no possibility for general authorisation for traders importing the same type of products on regular basis.
Upon arrival of the shipment, UPS (the shipping company we use) will contact the receiver of the shipment indicating a third-party supplier who can provide radiometric inspection and issue the relevant certificate. If the receiver accepts the suggested solution, they will be contacted by the supplier to proceed with payment and inspection; should the receiver refuse, the shipment will be returned to ourselves, at the cost of the customer. The return may also be subject to a restocking fee.
The fee for the inspection is from EUR 170.00 per shipment and is payable by the importer directly to the inspecting company.
The carriers or the supplier are not normally involved in the contracting or payment collection.
In order to optimise costs related to radiometric inspection, we recommend that customers import these commodity categories in one single shipment.
Timeline for Implementation: July 1, 2022
References:
Gazzetta Ufficiale Della Republica Italiana (Italian text only)
https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/do/atto/serie_generale/caricaPdf?cdimg=22A0268000100010110002&dgu=2022-04-28&art.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2022-04-28&art.codiceRedazionale=22A02680&art.num=1&art.tiposerie=SG
Official Journal of the European Union
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2014:013:0001:0073:EN:PDF