What is CITES?

CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - is an international agreement between Governments.

Its aim is to protect specimens of plants and animals by regulating and monitoring their international trade. The Convention, the text of which was agreed upon at a meeting in Washington in 1973, entered into force in 1975. There are now 169 Member Parties to the Convention. The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme that is located in Geneva-Switzerland.

CITES regulates international trade in some 30,000 species, 25,000 of which are plants. These species are listed in three appendices.

Each Party to the Convention must appoint a Management Authority.
The “Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio” (Ministry for the Environment and Land Protection) is the Italian Management Authority (it does not issue any license, permit or certificate).

The only Italian Management Authorities responsible for issuing permits and certificates for the import, export and re-export of CITES species are the following:

- Import and export permits (non E.U. Countries): Ministero delle Attività Produttive -Direzione Generale per la Politica Commerciale-Divisione VIII - CITES (Ministry of Productive Activities - Directorate General for Trade Policy - Division VIII - CITES).

- re-export permits(all Countries), import notifications and Community certificates (only E.U. Countries): Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali-Corpo Forestale dello Stato-Servizio CITES (Ministry of Agricultural and Forest Policies through the CITES Service of the State Corps of Forest Rangers)

The European Union represents one of the largest markets for wild animals and plants, their products and derivatives. Due to the European Single Market, CITES provisions are applied uniformly in the European Community through the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations. These regulations are managed by the Directorate General for Environment of the European Commission.

Italy is a valid member of the convention over the international trade with threatened animal and plant types (CITES). It has, however, to respect very severe conditions to export rare animal species protected by Cites controls. Every plant or every animal menaced of extinction and included in Appendix I, II, and III (lists of plant and animal species under protection of Cites organs because menaced of extinction) needs the so called “CITES” certificate to be exported from a country and imported in another country.
This document is fundamental for the export and import of items realized with exotic skin from Italy till to the destination’s countries.
The necessary time to receive this document is usually 1-2 week.
There’s a procedure to follow to obtain this CITES certificate and it is the following:

- All necessary papers are collected and handed over to the appropriate authority, according to article the IX of the CITES AGREEMENT OVER THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE WITH THREATENED ANIMAL AND PLANT TYPES.
In Italy the appropriate authority is called - Corpo Forestale dello Stato:  Servizio CITES.

- Afterwards a CITES certification is requested. In this request, the products which have to be required are enumerated and described in a detailed way, completed with all the  coordinates of the buyer and the salesman.

Together with this request, the following papers are enclosed:

1) The CITES certification for exotic skins imported here in Italy according to the CITES   CONDITIONS, provided with the following information:
- Country of origin of the animal’s skin;
- License number of the import;
- Import date;
- Scientific designation of the animal species;
- The Appendix this leather is assigned to;
- Leather’s import country.

2) Declaration with the following data:
- The number of exotic leathers used for the production of the handbags;
- The Licence number, these leathers have been introduced here in Italy with;
- The licence date.

3) If necessary, additional papers.

After the exhibition of the CITES  certification, all products as well as the issued papers, which have been required, must be submitted at the appropriate supervisory authority (Nucleo Operativo del Corpo Forestale) for the examination. After a detailed control by the authorized organs, a DG2 formulary is issued over the agreement of the data in the papers with the products which have been required (this formulary is necessary for the import of the products into the regulation country).
After the examination, the box with the products is sealed. The supply is released for transport.