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The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation applies to whoever declares tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold ores and metals for free circulation, or on whose behalf this is done, unless each annual volume is below its threshold. Since 1 January 2021 that importer must run supply chain due diligence and report publicly. At MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam, we advise these importers.
This article is part of our overview of EU sustainability rules for products.
Are you the Union importer, or is your Dutch customer?
The Union importer is the person who declares the minerals or metals for release for free circulation, or on whose behalf that declaration is made (Article 2(l) Regulation (EU) 2017/821).
If the goods are declared in Rotterdam or at Schiphol by you or on your behalf, you are the Union importer, and the duties apply to you if your volume of a mineral or metal reaches the threshold. The definition in Article 2(l) looks at the declaration and sets no requirement as to where the company is established.
“Are we the importer?” Look at the customs declaration, not at the contract title. The Regulation applies to whoever declares the minerals or metals for release for free circulation, or on whose behalf that declaration is made. If that is your Dutch customer, the obligations sit with them, but they will need your information.
Which minerals and metals, and which thresholds?
The Regulation covers the ores, concentrates and metals of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG) listed in Annex I, including by-products. It does not apply to an importer whose annual import volume of each mineral or metal concerned stays below the Annex I threshold (Article 1(3) and (8) Regulation (EU) 2017/821).
Thresholds are set per Combined Nomenclature code. Five were set later by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1588. Some examples:
| Mineral or metal | CN code | Annual threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Gold (both Annex I lines) | ex 7108 | 100 kg |
| Tin, unwrought | 8001 | 100 000 kg |
| Tungsten wire | 8101 96 00 | 250 kg |
| Tantalum or niobium ores and concentrates | ex 2615 90 00 | 100 000 kg |
| Gold ores and concentrates | ex 2616 90 00 | 4 000 000 kg |
The Commission may amend the thresholds every three years (Article 1(5)), so always check the current Annex I. Finished products that contain these metals are not in Annex I. Recycled metals are outside the duties, except that the importer must disclose its conclusion and the steps it took (Articles 1(6) and 7(4)). Stocks that demonstrably existed in their current form before 1 February 2013 are also excluded (Article 1(7)).
What must a Union importer do?
A Union importer above the threshold has four duties (management system, risk management, third-party audit and disclosure) and must keep documentation showing compliance (Articles 3 to 7 and 20(3) Regulation (EU) 2017/821). They apply since 1 January 2021.
- Management system (Article 4): a supply chain policy for minerals and metals potentially originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, communicated to suppliers and the public and built into supplier contracts; senior management responsibility; a grievance mechanism; a chain of custody or traceability system. For minerals this includes the country of origin; for metals, the names and addresses of the smelters and refiners. Records are kept for at least five years.
- Risk management (Article 5): identify and assess the risks in your supply chain and respond to them. Importers of minerals choose between continuing trade with measurable risk mitigation, suspending trade temporarily, or disengaging from a supplier after failed attempts at mitigation (Article 5(1)). Importers of metals base their risk assessment on the third-party audit reports of the smelters and refiners in their chain; without such reports, they assess the risks as part of their own risk management and have their own due diligence audited by an independent third party (Article 5(4) and (5)).
- Third-party audit (Article 6(1)). Importers of metals are exempt if they show that all smelters and refiners in their supply chain comply; sourcing exclusively from smelters and refiners on the list the Commission keeps under Article 9 meets that test (Articles 6(2) and 9).
- Disclosure (Article 7): audit reports, or evidence of conformity with a recognised scheme, made available to the competent authority, all due diligence information to immediate downstream purchasers (with due regard for business confidentiality), and an annual public report, including on the internet.
Since October 2025 the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP) is recognised as equivalent, but only for Union importers of minerals effectively implementing it: in practice smelters and refiners (Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2071). It does not change the duties of importers of metals, and an importer that uses a recognised scheme remains individually responsible.
Four things, and you must be able to show them: a supply chain policy communicated to suppliers and the public and written into your contracts; a system that tells you, per delivery, where the material comes from and, for metals, which smelter or refiner processed it; an independent third-party audit; and an annual public report. Keep everything for at least five years. If you import metals, my advice is to source as far as possible from smelters and refiners on the Commission’s list and to build on what your suppliers already provide. It keeps things practical, although you remain responsible yourself.
What will your Dutch customer ask you for?
A Dutch importer must trace its supply chain and pass due diligence information to its own customers, so it will ask you for origin data (minerals) and the names and addresses of the smelters and refiners (metals) (Articles 4(f)–(g) and 7(2) Regulation (EU) 2017/821).
Expect contract clauses that incorporate its supply chain policy (Article 4(d)) and set out what happens if a risk appears (Article 5). The three options below are those Article 5(1) lists for importers of minerals; an importer of metals applies a response strategy consistent with Annex II to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, based on its risk assessment (Article 5(4) and (5)). It may also ask you to cooperate if the regulator has questions; that is a contractual choice, not a requirement of the Regulation.
Make agreements you can actually use in an inspection. Put the supply chain policy into the contract, ask for origin data and the name of the smelter or refiner per delivery, record that the supplier cooperates if the regulator asks questions, and agree what happens if a risk turns up: first improve together, then pause, and if that fails, end the relationship. That mirrors the steps the Regulation asks for.
How is the Regulation enforced in the Netherlands?
The Netherlands designated the Inspector General of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (inspecteur-generaal Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT) as competent authority. The ILT may impose an order subject to a penalty, a last onder dwangsom (Articles 2 and 3 Dutch Conflict Minerals Implementation Act).
Ex-post checks are risk-based or follow substantiated concerns from third parties, and may include on-the-spot inspections at the importer’s premises; the importer must give all necessary assistance (Article 11 of the Regulation). After an infringement, the authority issues a notice of remedial action (Article 16(3)). The Dutch Act enforces this with the last onder dwangsom; it has no administrative fine.
The Regulation does not say expressly which Member State’s authority checks an importer. According to the Dutch government, Dutch Customs provides import data to the ILT under an agreement between them, and competent authorities exchange information with each other and with customs (Article 13).
| Stage | What the ILT does | Condition or time limit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ex-post check | examines documents, audits and premises | risk-based or after third-party concerns | Art. 11 Regulation |
| Infringement | notice of remedial action to be taken by the Union importer | infringement of the Regulation; no time limit set in the Regulation | Art. 16(3) Regulation |
| Order subject to a penalty | imposes a last onder dwangsom | penalty forfeited if the order is not complied with within the period set | Art. 3 and 4(1) Dutch Act |
| Publication | decides to publish and publishes | after the compliance period expires or a penalty is forfeited; not earlier than ten working days after notification | Art. 4(1)–(3) Dutch Act |
| Interim relief | publication suspended | until the court’s decision | Art. 4(4) Dutch Act |
| Objection or appeal | filing and outcome also published | as soon as reasonably practicable | Art. 4(6) Dutch Act |
Not sure whether you are the importer, or has the ILT been in touch? Put your situation to me through our product law team in the Netherlands.
What should you or your Dutch customer do if the ILT announces a check?
If the ILT announces a check at your company or at your Dutch customer, complete the file: policy, traceability data, audit report and annual report. Say honestly what is missing, with a plan and a date. The Union importer must cooperate with the check (Article 11(4) Regulation (EU) 2017/821).
Stay calm and complete the file. We go through the four parts together. What exists is put in order; what is missing is named honestly with a plan and a date. I add a short explanation of what you have done and what you will do, even if it is not literally requested. An open and complete file is the best way to keep it from going beyond a conversation.
What if you or your Dutch customer receive a last onder dwangsom?
Comply within the period set and no penalty is forfeited. If you disagree, you can object (bezwaar) and ask the interim relief judge (voorzieningenrechter) for a provisional measure (voorlopige voorziening); once that request has been made, publication is suspended until the judge’s decision (Article 4 Dutch Conflict Minerals Implementation Act).
There are two tracks. The first is to remedy within the period in the order, so that nothing is forfeited. The second is publication: the ILT publishes an order once the period has expired or a penalty is forfeited, and not earlier than ten working days after the decision has been notified to your company. If you disagree, you can object and ask the interim relief judge for a provisional measure; publication then waits for that decision.
When do you need a Dutch lawyer?
When it is unclear who the Union importer is, when your contracts with a Dutch customer or supplier do not yet reflect the Regulation, and immediately after the ILT announces a check, a notice of remedial action or a last onder dwangsom.
What I often see go wrong: a company thinks it is not covered because it is “only” a trader, while it makes the customs declaration itself. Another is adding up volumes instead of looking at each mineral or metal. The third is the annual report: it must be public, including online. That is the first thing a regulator or a customer looks at.
Example: a gold trader importing through Schiphol
Suppose a gold trader based outside the Netherlands sells refined gold to Dutch jewellers, and the shipments are declared for free circulation at Schiphol on the trader’s behalf, about 150 kg a year. The trader is then the Union importer and above the 100 kg threshold for gold.
It needs a supply chain policy and traceability data on the refiners in its chain, a risk assessment based on the refiners’ audit reports, a third-party audit unless it shows that all refiners in its chain comply (for example by sourcing only from refiners on the Commission’s Article 9 list), an annual public report, and it must pass its due diligence information to the jewellers as its immediate downstream purchasers (Articles 4 to 7). If instead each jeweller declares the goods itself, the jewellers become the importers, and each must check its own volume against the threshold.
How does MAAK Advocaten work on conflict minerals?
We first establish who the Union importer is and which thresholds apply. We then set up the policy, contract clauses and file, and prepare you or your Dutch customer for a check by the ILT. If a notice or order follows, we review the documents and time limits, file an objection where needed and seek interim relief against publication. We act in first instance and on appeal.
Conflict minerals often sit next to other supply chain rules, such as the EU Forced Labour Regulation and the CSDDD. For the wider route into the market, see selling products in the EU.
Frequently asked questions about the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation
Since when does the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation apply?
The duties of Union importers apply since 1 January 2021 (Article 20(3) Regulation (EU) 2017/821). The Regulation itself dates from 17 May 2017. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Conflict Minerals Implementation Act designates the ILT as competent authority.
Does a non-EU company fall under the Regulation?
Yes, if it declares the minerals or metals for free circulation in the EU, or the declaration is made on its behalf, and its annual volume of a mineral or metal is not below the Annex I threshold. The definition in Article 2(l) looks at the declaration and sets no requirement as to where the company is established.
Who enforces the Regulation in the Netherlands?
The Inspector General of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (inspecteur-generaal Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT). The ILT may impose an order subject to a penalty. It publishes the order once the compliance period has expired or a penalty is forfeited, not earlier than ten working days after the decision has been notified to the company, and suspends publication until the interim relief judge’s decision if a provisional measure has been requested (Article 4 Dutch Conflict Minerals Implementation Act).
Are finished products covered?
No. Annex I lists ores, concentrates and metals of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. Finished products in which these metals are incorporated are not covered.
When do you need a Dutch lawyer for conflict minerals?
When it is unclear who the Union importer is, when your contracts do not yet reflect the Regulation, or as soon as the ILT announces a check or an order. At MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam we prepare the file, object and seek interim relief where needed.
Primary sources
- Regulation (EU) 2017/821 (conflict minerals), OJ L 130, 19 May 2017: Articles 1 to 7, 9, 11, 13, 16 and 20, Annex I
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1588: Annex I thresholds
- Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2071: recognition of RMAP
- Dutch Conflict Minerals Implementation Act (Uitvoeringswet Verordening conflictmineralen): Articles 2, 3 and 4
Last checked on 6 November 2026 · next relevant date: 30 June 2027 (Member States’ annual report to the Commission, Article 17(1))
Importing 3TG through the Netherlands, or has a Dutch customer or the ILT asked questions? Put your situation to me through our product law team in the Netherlands. — Annemetje Koburg
