Workshop on narcotic and psychotropic substances

The first workshop on narcotic and psychotropic substances (Update on the management of import and export licenses, quarterly and annual reports, necessity forecasts) was held on 21 may 2019 at the Italian Ministry of Health.

The event was organised by the trade and logistic operators association (ASSORAM) in cooperation with the Narcotics Central Unit of the Italian Ministry of Health.

The event has allowed concerned operators to address and discuss in practice the main deadlines to comply with and the methods to fill in import and export license requests appropriately.

Companies entering into contact with narcotic and psychotropic substances are in fact subject to more regulatory requirements. This subject is particularly delicate and it is regulated by several international conventions.

In addition to these conventions, it is also necessary to comply with the national regulations, especially Presidential Decree no.  309 of 9 October 1990, also reporting the specifications regarding the transit of narcotic and psychotropic substances, i.e. the import and export licenses, and where indications on the transmission of the reports and necessity forecasts can be also found.

The Italian Ministry of Health has also tried to simplify the procedures, introducing the Narcotics Central Unit Information System (SIUCS) through which import and export licences application shall be submitted in addition to the submission of the hard copy of the request.

Another simplification was introduced with Decree 27 May 2015, where it is established that the reference to the authorisation can be omitted from the import and export license. This allow the license to stay valid even in case the authorisation details change. The essential requirement of holding an authorisation remains of course unvaried in order to be able to apply for a license. This is in line with what happens already in other countries.

During the workshop, Ministry officers provided suggestions and advices on how to fill in the import and export licence requests adequately, so that their processing can be quick.

The several deadlines to be comply with for the submission of quarterly and annual reports, forecasts on the necessity of narcotics and psychotropic substances  were also examined. This information is extremely relevant as the Ministry of Health shall then transmit these data to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The event concluded with a useful practice exercise and a debate on the major issues arisen and their possible solution.

Written by: Federica Montozzi