Dual-use items are goods, software and technology that can be used for both civil and military purposes. Machine tools, valves, pumps, sensors, measuring instruments, chemicals or encryption software can be controlled if they reach certain technical thresholds. Anyone who exports must therefore first establish whether their items are controlled.
The legal basis
The decisive instrument is the Dual-Use Regulation (EU) 2021/821. Under Article 3, the export from the EU of the items listed in Annex I requires an authorisation. Annex I is regularly adapted to the international control regimes, most recently by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2003, which entered into force on 15 November 2025 and added, among other things, items from quantum and semiconductor technology.
In addition, the German Export List (Ausfuhrliste, Annex AL to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance, AWV) applies in the version of 1 November 2025. Its Part I Section B contains nationally controlled dual-use items, for which Section 8 AWV provides for a licence requirement.
The Twenty-second Ordinance amending the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance of 29 October 2025 (Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) 2025 I No. 261) revised the German Export List with effect from 1 November 2025. This was more than a renumbering: for the nationally controlled items in Part I Section B, the licence requirement still follows from Section 8(1) AWV in conjunction with Article 9(1) of the Dual-Use Regulation. However, purely national simplifications no longer apply; in particular, the former value limit of EUR 5,000 has been abolished without replacement. Anyone who has not converted classifications from the time before to the new numbers has since been working with incorrect numbers in export declarations and general authorisations.
Current amendment of the control list
On 14 September 2026, the Commission adopted a further update of Annex I implementing the decisions taken by the control regimes in 2025. Council and Parliament have a two-month objection period; entry into force is expected in November 2026. The Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) already provides a non-binding overview of the changes.
Newly controlled items include atomic layer deposition equipment for molybdenum and ruthenium, EUV resist processing and EUV mask inspection, single-wafer cleaning equipment, high-voltage semiconductor switches made of silicon carbide, gallium nitride and gallium oxide, ceramic composite materials with mullite fibre reinforcement, inductive absolute rotary encoders, equipment for the additive manufacturing of energetic materials, equipment for the production of silicon carbide fibres, and technology for axial compressors of gas turbine engines. Parameters are also amended for advanced computing ICs, secondary cells, lasers and turboexpanders.
The legal consequence is important: newly listed items become subject to licensing on entry into force, without a transitional period. Anyone with semiconductor, materials or sensor portfolios should start the classification review now.
Structure of Annex I
Annex I is divided into ten categories:
- Category 0: Nuclear materials, facilities and equipment
- Category 1: Special materials and related equipment
- Category 2: Materials processing
- Category 3: Electronics
- Category 4: Computers
- Category 5: Telecommunications and information security
- Category 6: Sensors and lasers
- Category 7: Navigation and avionics
- Category 8: Marine
- Category 9: Aerospace and propulsion
Every entry number follows the same pattern. An example: 2B001. The first digit indicates the category, here 2 for materials processing. The letter indicates the sub-category: A for systems, equipment and components, B for test, inspection and production equipment, C for materials, D for software, E for technology. The following digit refers to the control regime from which the entry originates, i.e. 0 for the Wassenaar Arrangement, 1 for the Missile Technology Control Regime, 2 for the Nuclear Suppliers Group, 3 for the Australia Group and 4 for the Chemical Weapons Convention. Entries specific to the EU carry a 5 in this position, nationally controlled items in Part I Section B a 9.
Classification against the control list in practice
Classification is a technical review. What matters are the parameters named in the list entry, i.e. accuracy, power, frequency, material or encryption strength. The same product can be free in one version and listed in another. Typical sources of error:
- CN code as the yardstick: BAFA’s correlation list assigns CN codes to possible list entries. It provides indications, but does not replace a review. Goods can be listed even though the correlation list names no entry for their CN code, and vice versa.
- Review without engineering: export control knows the list, development knows the product. Without data sheets and a responsible contact person in engineering, the classification remains an assumption.
- Classified once, never reviewed again: products are developed further, and the list changes every year. The classification therefore belongs in the item master data and must be reviewed again whenever changes are made.
- Notes overlooked: exceptions and technical notes to an entry often decide the outcome.
Not listed does not mean free
Items that do not appear on any list can also be subject to licensing. Article 4 of the Dual-Use Regulation covers non-listed items if BAFA informs the exporter that they are or may be intended for weapons of mass destruction, for a military end use in a country subject to an arms embargo, or as parts of military items exported without authorisation. If the exporter is aware of such a purpose, the exporter must notify BAFA.
Article 5 contains a corresponding rule for cyber-surveillance items that can be used in connection with internal repression or serious violations of human rights. At national level, Section 9 AWV supplements these rules for items intended for nuclear facilities in certain countries. In addition, there are embargoes and sanctions containing their own prohibitions; see our article on screening obligations under sanctions.
Software and technology
Controls do not only apply to what crosses the border in a box. The transmission of software and technology by electronic media, i.e. by e-mail, download, data exchange platform or remote access, also counts as an export. Design drawings, production instructions or source code can thus be an export requiring a licence if they go to a recipient outside the EU. With cloud services, what matters is where the data are stored and who can access them. BAFA has published guidance on this, which should be reviewed in the individual case.
Legal certainty through BAFA
If the classification remains doubtful, you can apply to BAFA via the ELAN-K2 portal for information on the list of items (Auskunft zur Güterliste). It clarifies whether an item is listed. A zero notice (Nullbescheid) goes further: it confirms for a specific transaction, i.e. item, recipient and end use, that no licence is required. Both require a meaningful technical description.
How to proceed
- Record your items. Compile all products, spare parts, software and exported technology, including whatever leaves the company only by e-mail or data exchange.
- Classify technically. Compare the parameters against Annex I and Part I Section B together with engineering, and document the result with reasons.
- Plan for the update. Check your portfolio against BAFA’s overview of the changes in the 2026 update before it enters into force. There is no transitional period.
- Maintain master data. Record the list number in the system and determine when it is reviewed again.
- Check the end use. Watch for indications of military or critical end use even for non-listed items.
- Resolve doubts. Apply for information on the list of items if the classification is uncertain.
If an item is listed, the licence application follows. How it works is described in our article on export licences from BAFA. Ultimately, responsibility for the classification lies with the export control officer.