Second Ordinance on the Implementation of the War Weapons Control Act v. 1 June 1961

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Second Ordinance on the Implementation of the War Weapons Control Act v. 1 June 1961

KrWaffKontrGDV 2

Date of issue: 01.06.1961

Full quote:

"Second Ordinance on the Implementation of the War Weapons Control Act in the corrected version published in the Federal Law Gazette Part III, subdivision number 190-1-2, as last amended by Article 1 of the Ordinance of 13 March 2020 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 521)"

Status : Last amended Art. 1 V v. 13.3.2020 I 521


See German official version - Siehe deutsche Originalfassung

Note: Unofficial translation
This English translation is an unofficial translation, operated by RespectUs (a) using Deepl, an automated translation service, and (b) reviewing the version obtained by Deepl. It is only provided for information purposes. Only the German official text is binding.


Entry formula

On the basis of § 11, paragraph 4, § 12, paragraph 7 and § 14, paragraph 7 of the War Weapons Control Act of 20 April 1961 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 444), the Federal Government decrees with the consent of the Bundesrat:

§ 1 - Application for a manufacturing authorisation

(1) The application for a licence to manufacture war weapons shall contain the following information:

  1. Name and address of the applicant
  2. Name and address of the purchaser
  3. Name and address of the principal
  4. Designation of the weapons of war
  5. Number of the war weapons list
  6. Number of pieces or weight
  7. Purpose of manufacture
  8. Final destination of the weapons of war.

(2) The application shall also state and, on request, provide evidence of,

  1. whether the conditions set out in § 6 para. 2 no.
  2. of the Act are Germans within the meaning of Article 116 of the Basic Law and have their domicile or habitual residence in the Federal territory, 2. whether the permits required in connection with the act requiring a permit under other provisions have been obtained,
  3. which security and confidentiality measures within the meaning of section 12(1) of the Act have been taken or are intended.

§ 2 - Application for a transfer permit

(1) The application for a licence to transfer actual authority over weapons of war to another person shall contain the following information:

  1. Name and address of the applicant
  2. Name and address of the person to whom the applicant intends to transfer effective authority (acquirer)
  3. Name and address of the manufacturer
  4. Designation of the weapons of war
  5. Number of the war weapons list
  6. Number of pieces or weight
  7. Purpose of the transfer

(2) § 1 par. 2 shall apply accordingly.

§ 3 - Application for a purchase permit

(1) The application for a licence to acquire actual authority over weapons of war from another shall contain the following information:

  1. Name and address of the applicant
  2. Name and address of the person from whom the applicant wishes to acquire effective authority
  3. Name and address of the principal
  4. Name and address of the manufacturer
  5. Designation of the weapons of war
  6. Number of the war weapons list
  7. Number of pieces or weight
  8. Purpose of the acquisition
  9. Final destination of the war weapons

(2) § 1 par. 2 shall apply accordingly.

§ 4 - Application for a permit to carry within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany

(1) The application for a licence to transport war weapons within the Federal territory (§ 3 paras. 1 and 2 of the Act) must contain the following information:

  1. Name and address of the applicant
  2. Name and address of the sender
  3. Name and address of the recipient
  4. Designation of the weapons of war
  5. Number of the war weapons list
  6. Number of pieces or weight
  7. Name and address of the carrier
  8. Purpose of the carriage
  9. Means of transport
  10. Shipping and destination
  11. Period of promotion.

(2) In cases of the transport of war weapons for the purpose of export or transit (§ 3 para. 3 of the Act), the application must also contain information on the final destination of the war weapons. The information must be provided in a credible manner.

(3) § 1 par. 2 shall apply accordingly.

§ 5 - Application for a licence for carriage outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany

(1) The application for a licence to transport war weapons outside the Federal territory must contain the following information:

  1. Name and address of the applicant
  2. Designation of the weapons of war
  3. Number of the war weapons list
  4. Number of pieces or weight
  5. Final destination of the war weapons or name and address of the consignee
  6. Means of transport
  7. Shipping and destination
  8. Journey or flight distance
  9. Period of promotion.

(2) § 1 par. 2 shall apply accordingly.

§ 5a - Application for a foreign trade licence

(1) The application for a foreign trade permit shall contain the following information:

  1. Name and address of the applicant,
  2. Name and address of those between whom the contract for the acquisition or transfer of war weapons is to be concluded,
  3. Designation of weapons of war,
  4. Number of the war weapons list,
  5. Number of pieces or weight,
  6. Designation of the country in which the weapons of war are located.

(2) If an application is made for a licence under section 4a(2) of the Act, the name and address of the person to whom the war weapons are to be transferred shall be given instead of the information specified in subsection (1)(2).

(3) The licensing authority may require further information necessary for the assessment of the application. This shall include in particular information on

  1. the intended use,
  2. the expected country of destination,
  3. the expected final whereabouts.

Documents relating to this information shall be provided by the applicant upon request.

(4) § 1 para. 2 shall apply accordingly.

§ 6 - Form of application

(1) The application for a permit shall be made in text form.

(2) If the performance of a procurement or repair contract awarded by a Federal Ministry named in section 11(2) nos. 1, 2 and 3 of the Act or by an authority subordinate to it involves an act requiring approval, the contractor's written tender shall be deemed to be an application for the granting of the necessary approval. If there is no written offer, sentence 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis if the contractor accepts the order in writing.

§ 7 - Simultaneous application

(1) If the conditions for the lapse of the transfer and acquisition permit do not exist, the following shall apply

  1. in cases of transport of war weapons within the federal territory, the application of the consignor in accordance with § 2 and the application of the consignee in accordance with § 3,
  2. in cases of carriage of war weapons for the purpose of importation, the consignee's application in accordance with § 3,
  3. in cases of carriage of war weapons for the purpose of export, the application of the consignor in accordance with § 2

be submitted at the latest with the application for authorisation to carry in accordance with § 4.

(2) In cases of transfer and acquisition of actual power over weapons of war, the application of the person wishing to transfer actual power and the application of the person wishing to acquire actual power shall be submitted simultaneously.

§ 8 - Permanent authorisation

(1) Permission may be granted to an applicant without restriction to the performance of a single act for a specified period of time (permanent permission) if it is expedient because of the multiple repetition of acts of the same kind and public interests are not endangered.

(2) The permanent licence for the manufacture of the war weapons specified in Part B of the War Weapons List may be granted without limitation to a specific quantity, and the permanent licence for the transport of war weapons may be granted without limitation to a specific type and quantity. Other permanent licences may only be granted for a specific type and quantity.

§ 9 - Maintenance and contents of the war weapons register

(1) Anyone who is obliged to keep a war weapons register shall enter the stock of war weapons on the reporting dates prescribed under section 10(1), every change in the stock and every transport without a change in the stock in the war weapons register. The entries must be made immediately after a reportable event and must be made in a comprehensible manner. Any correction of an entry must be recognisable as such and leave the original entry unchanged. The war weapons book may be kept in paper form or electronically.

(2) A special sheet or, in the case of the electronically kept war weapons book, a separate data record with the number of the war weapons list shall be created for each type of weapon.

(3) When entering a change in stock or a transport without a change in stock, the following information shall be provided:

  1. Sequence number and date of registration
  2. Number of pieces
  3. Weapon number
  4. Number of the approval certificate including indication of the approval authority
  5. Reasons for access or departure of the weapon of war
  6. Name and address of the manufacturer
  7. Name and address of the person who has transferred or acquired actual authority
  8. Means of transport
  9. Date of arrival or departure or date of transport
  10. Name and address of the carrier or carriers.

(4) The following information shall be provided when entering the stock on the reporting dates:

  1. Sequence number and date of registration
  2. Number of pieces
  3. Reporting date.

(5) The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control may specify the reasons to be given for the entry and exit of war weapons in accordance with paragraph 3(5) by means of a general ruling to be published in the Federal Gazette.

(6) If, for the purpose of acquiring actual authority over war weapons, licences or registration certificates issued by the authorities of the stationing forces are presented in lieu of licences in accordance with section 2, paragraph 2 of the War Weapons Control Act on the basis of intergovernmental treaties, the duplicate copies of the licences or registration certificates shall be annexed to the War Weapons Register or stored in it.

(7) Any person who transports war weapons within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany on behalf of another or who transports war weapons outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany on German sea-going vessels or aircraft or who has no residence or commercial establishment within the area of application of the Act shall not be required to keep a war weapons register.

§ 10 - Reporting the War Weapons Stockpile

(1) Any change in the stockpile and the stocks of war weapons (stock entries) existing on 31 March and 30 September of each year (reporting dates) shall be reported electronically to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control, broken down by type of weapon and containing the information prescribed in section 9(3) and (4), within two weeks of the reporting dates. This shall also apply if there has been no change in the stockpile since the last reporting date. The stock entry shall also be reported if the stock has fallen to zero in the reporting period (zero reporting). If the stock remains at zero in the subsequent reporting period without any change in stock, no further zero reporting is required. The reporting obligation according to sentence 1 shall apply accordingly to transports without stock changes.

(2) Section 9(7) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(3) The reports pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be transmitted electronically starting with the reporting period from 1 April 2020. The initial stockpile shall also be reported (transmission information). The numbering of the stock entries in the War Weapons Register may be continued or restarted on the occasion of the new reporting procedure. The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control may, by means of a general ruling to be published in the Federal Gazette, specify how the transmission information must be structured in detail.

(4) Any person required to keep a War Weapons Register shall immediately notify the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control electronically if an entry in the War Weapons Register which has already been notified has been corrected or if an omitted entry or notification has been made subsequently. The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control may, by means of a general ruling to be published in the Federal Gazette, specify how the notification is to be made in the event of a notifiable correction to the War Weapons Register. The notification of loss in accordance with section 12(6) sentence 1 number 3 of the War Weapons Control Act shall be made electronically.

(5) The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control may, on application, authorise the transmission of reportable data in paper form if electronic transmission would impose a special, unreasonable burden on the applicant. The application shall be made within one month of the first reportable event, stating reasons.

(6) Any person required to keep a war weapons register shall check the accuracy and completeness of the declarations, record the result of the check and sign it. The document shall be transmitted electronically to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control within the periods specified in paragraph 1.

§ 11 - Retention periods

(1) The person obliged to keep a war weapons register shall keep the war weapons register for as long as he or she has actual control over war weapons, but for at least ten years from the date of the last entry made.

(2) The holder of a licence shall retain the licence document for as long as he/she has actual control over the war weapons specified in the document, but for at least ten years from the date of issue. Documents serving as evidence of the fulfilment of ancillary provisions or conditions to the licence shall also be retained.

§ 12 - Unused permits

(1) If the licensed action is not carried out or is carried out only in part, the licence holder shall notify the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) thereof no later than two weeks after the expiry of a time limit specified in the licence document for the performance of the action.

(2) Paragraph 1 shall not apply in cases of carriage of war weapons outside the Federal territory by German sea-going vessels or aircraft

§ 13 - Labelling obligation

(1) War weapons manufactured in the Federal territory, imported into the Federal territory or otherwise brought into the Federal territory must bear a mark of the manufacturer or importer. The mark must be affixed in a visible place and must be permanent.

(2) War weapons manufactured in the Federal territory, imported into the Federal territory or otherwise brought into the Federal territory, with the exception of weapons of numbers 9, 14, 15, 31, 40 to 43 and 46 to 50 of the War Weapons List, shall also bear a consecutive manufacturing number.

§ 14 - Obligation to present, register and demonstrate

(1) War weapons shall be presented to the customs offices designated by the Federal Ministry of Finance upon import, export and transit, insofar as they are not already to be presented in accordance with the customs regulations.

(2) When war weapons are otherwise brought into or out of the Federal territory, the war weapons shall be presented to the customs offices responsible for monitoring this traffic.

§ 15 - Entry into force

This Ordinance shall enter into force on the day following its promulgation.