Every year, thousands of cultural goods cross the Franco-Swiss border. Since 28 June 2025, this movement has been subject to new rules. Indeed, the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/880 on the import of cultural goods into the European Union, adopted six years earlier, has become fully effective with the introduction of a common electronic system, the ICG (Import of Cultural Goods). This system gives concrete form to the new obligations imposed on any owner of a work of art or art market professional wishing to import works from a country outside the European Union.
Six months later, Switzerland in turn strengthened its own framework: the Ordinance on the Transfer of Cultural Goods, implementing the Federal Act on the International Transfer of Cultural Goods of 20 June 2003, came back into force on 1 January 2026 in a revised version – the first such revision in twenty years.
These two reforms, introduced within a few months of one another, are reshaping the rules governing the movement of cultural property between Switzerland and the European Union. To fully appreciate their significance, it is necessary to consider them in turn from both angles: first, the rules applicable to import; second, those governing export.
- Import: the rules governing imports
An international framework, but not directly applicable
Regulation (EU) 2019/880 is linked to two earlier conventions, the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention, but neither is directly applicable, as confirmed by French case law. Indeed, in 2008, the Republic of Argentina relied on these two texts to block the sale of a Tafi mask at the Hôtel Drouot. However, the Paris Regional Court held that: “the legal status of the item falls outside the scope of the Unidroit Convention, which is not applicable in France, [as well as] the provisions of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, ratified by France in January 1997” and applied only the French law applicable at the time (Paris Regional Court, reference order, 26 May 2008, RG No.: 08/54169).
Conversely, Switzerland ratified the 1970 UNESCO Convention and transposed it through its Federal Act of 20 June 2003 on the International Transfer of Cultural Property (CPTA), which came into force on 1 June 2005.
Restricted French domestic law
Prior to the adoption of the European Regulation, an initial framework was established at the French level through the adoption of Act No. 2016-925 of 7 July 2016 on freedom of creation, architecture and heritage (known as the ‘LCAP’ Act),
codified in Articles L. 111-8 to L. 111-12 of the Heritage Code.
Article L. 111-8, which remains in force, makes the importation of cultural goods, regardless of their origin, coming directly from a non-EU Member State that is a party to the UNESCO Convention of 14 November 1970, to the production of a certificate or equivalent document attesting to the lawfulness of the export from that State. Failing this, importation is prohibited, as is the subsequent sale of the object.
Article L. 111-9 supplements this framework with a provision specific to conflict zones. It prohibits the sale or possession of cultural property removed from a third country in breach of a United Nations Security Council resolution.
This purely national framework has since been supplemented by a specific European mechanism, namely Regulation (EU) 2019/880, which establishes harmonised controls upon entry into the customs territory of the Union; this applies independently of Articles L. 111-8 and L. 111-9 of the Heritage Code and takes precedence over them.
A European import regime that remained on paper for more than four years
Regulation (EU) 2019/880 of 17 April 2019 established, upon its adoption, a much more general prohibition in principle: no cultural object unlawfully removed from its country of creation or discovery may enter the customs territory of the European Union. Since 28 December 2020, this ban has applied to all cultural objects originating from a third country, including Switzerland.
The Regulation also provides for two administrative formalities: the import licence and the importer’s declaration. These formalities require a common IT system across the twenty-seven Member States. Such a system did not exist before 2025. For five years, only the general ban was actually in force.
What has changed since 28 June 2025
Since that date, two categories of cultural goods entering the EU are subject to a mandatory formality.
The most sensitive cultural goods – namely archaeological objects and parts of historic monuments over 250 years old – require an import licence, regardless of their value. In France, the Musées de France issues this licence via the ICG platform, within a period of up to 90 days from receipt of a complete application.
Other cultural goods (paintings, sculptures, antique books, collectables, etc.) that are more than 200 years old and valued at 18,000 euros or more require a declaration from the importer. The importer must certify, on their own responsibility, that the export from the country of transfer or the country of origin was lawful.
Finally, Regulation 2019/880 provides for a simplified procedure for goods presented at art fairs under temporary admission: a simple declaration stating code L065 replaces the licence, which becomes necessary again if another customs procedure is subsequently requested. This mechanism directly affects major cross-border fairs, starting with Art Basel.
A note to operators (including private individuals) dated 23 June 2025 was issued by French customs to set out the technical details of the procedures to be followed.
Importers should bear in mind that the obligations imposed by French and European legislation are cumulative.
In summary, since 28 June 2025, the entry of a cultural object into the EU from a third country such as Switzerland requires, depending on the nature of the item, either an import licence – for archaeological objects and parts of historic monuments over 250 years old, with no value threshold – or a simple declaration by the importer – for other cultural objects over 200 years old and with a value of 18,000 euros or more, subject to the simplified procedure applicable to fairs under temporary admission. These European formalities are, where applicable, in addition to those still required under Articles L. 111-8 and L. 111-9 of the Heritage Code.
Importing into Switzerland: the Swiss equivalent
On the Swiss side, CPTA provides, in Article 4a, for the obligation to submit a customs declaration to the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (OFDF) containing precise information on the cultural object (type of object, place of manufacture or discovery, etc.). Section 16 of the Cultural Property Act (CPTA) also imposes a duty of care in the event of the sale of a cultural object, including an obligation to verify that the import is not unlawful. Furthermore, art dealers and auctioneers must identify their supplier and require a written declaration from them regarding their right to dispose of the cultural object, inform their clients of the applicable import and export rules, and keep a register detailing the origin of the cultural object and the identity of the supplier.
The Ordinance implementing the CPTA, revised for the first time in twenty years, came into force on 1 January 2026. From now on, all customs declarations, including those in free ports, must specify the date and dimensions of the item. According to the Federal Council’s explanatory report, the sole purpose of this revision is to: “clarify the current text in various areas and make a few minor amendments to its content, with a view to optimising the implementation of the Act”, with no reference to a tightening of regulations or harmonisation with EU law. This interpretation is, however, contested by practitioners in the art market, who see it as a significant tightening of Swiss regulations and a de facto alignment with European standards.
Import sanctions
In France, customs checks – whether a priori or a posteriori – are intended to verify that the necessary due diligence has been carried out.
Importing goods without a licence or making a false declaration constitutes the smuggling of prohibited goods within the meaning of Articles L. 232-1 (formerly Article 215) and L. 231-5, 3° (formerly Article 38) of the Customs Code and exposes the perpetrator to the penalties set out in Article L. 513-1 of the Customs Code (formerly Article 414(1) of the Customs Code), namely up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of twice the value of the goods.
Such conduct may also constitute a separate criminal offence. Article L.114-1 of the Heritage Code penalises imports made in breach of Article L.111-8, which requires an export certificate issued by the State of origin for goods entering France that fall within the categories covered by the 1970 UNESCO Convention. For offences under Article L. 111-9, the perpetrators may also face confiscation of the goods concerned.
In a judgement of 25 February 2010, prior to the LCAP and Regulation (EU) 2019/880, the Montpellier Court of Appeal had already ruled on the importation of fossils, prehistoric objects and archaeological artefacts lacking proof of origin. On the questionable basis of Law No. 92-1477 of 31 December 1992 – which relates to exports – it classified them as cultural property and prohibited goods. It further ruled that the submission of under-declared invoices – that is, invoices stating prices bearing no relation to the actual value of the items (between €90 and €1,455 for a consignment valued at nearly €100,000) – constituted a false declaration of value equivalent to the undeclared import of prohibited goods (Article 426). It imposed a fine equal to the value of the goods, reduced to €36,091, as well as ordering the confiscation of the goods and the vehicle used to transport them.
Swiss law, which is not subject to Regulation (EU) 2019/880, has its own set of penal provisions, incorporated into the CPTA. Article 24 of the CPTA penalises, in particular, where committed intentionally, the unlawful importation of a cultural object as well as the provision of incorrect information upon importation. These offences are punishable by a custodial sentence of up to one year or a fine. Article 25 of the CPTA, for its part, penalises other breaches of the obligations laid down by the Act which do not fall under Article 24, in particular where they are committed through negligence.
2. Export: the rules applicable to exports
The other direction of the flow: exports from the EU to Switzerland
The reverse movement remains governed by an older piece of legislation, Regulation (EC) No 116/2009 of 18 December 2008. This regulation makes the removal of certain cultural goods from the EU’s customs territory – whether to Switzerland or to any other third country – subject to an export licence.
The competent authority is that of the Member State where the object was lawfully and permanently located prior to 1 January 1993, or that of the Member State where it is located following a subsequent lawful dispatch or import.
Regulation No 116/2009 applies only to cultural goods falling within the fifteen categories listed in its Annex I, subject to cumulative thresholds relating to age (fifty or one hundred years, depending on the category) and value; below these thresholds, the goods may be taken out of the customs territory of the Union freely. This same list of categories was, for the most part, incorporated into French law during the transposition carried out by the Act of 31 December 1992, now reproduced in the Annex to Article R. 111-1 of the Heritage Code.
French law, however, adds a layer specific to itself. Article L. 111-1 of the Heritage Code defines ‘national treasures’ as: items from the collections of French museums, public archives, items classified as historic monuments, other movable public property, and, more broadly, any item of major significance to the national heritage from a historical, artistic or archaeological perspective. It is on this basis that the administration’s power to oppose, as a last resort, the permanent removal of a work rests. This classification does not depend on the origin of the object: a foreign artefact, whether a Chinese vase or a Cambodian statue, may be recognised as a national treasure provided it is of major significance to French heritage, as was the case with Cimabue’s Christ Mocked in 2019.
The instrument used for this control is the certificate of free circulation provided for in Article L. 111-2 of the Heritage Code. It is a prerequisite for the removal from French territory, regardless of the destination – including to another Member State – of any cultural object of historical, artistic or archaeological interest falling within one of the fifteen categories set out by decree in the aforementioned Annex. The requirement for the certificate is based on four criteria, which are in principle cumulative: the category of the object, its age (fifty or one hundred years depending on the category), its value (thresholds specific to each category, set out in Decree No. 2020-1718 of 28 December 2020 (€300,000 for paintings, €100,000 for sculptures, for example)) and, as a residual criterion, its owner, as the certificate is not required when the item belongs to the artist who created it. Certain items, such as national antiquities or archaeological objects over one hundred years old, remain subject to control regardless of their value.
This national certificate is in addition to the European export licence, but is not to be confused with it: the former is a condition for the removal of goods from French customs territory to any destination whatsoever, whilst the latter is a condition for the removal of goods from the customs territory of the European Union to a third country such as Switzerland. As the decree of 28 December 2020 significantly raised the French value thresholds without affecting the European thresholds, the same item may now be exempt from the national certificate whilst remaining subject to the European licence: the operator should therefore not rely solely on the national threshold when assessing their obligations with regard to Switzerland.
Temporary exports are exempt from the certificate requirement where they are intended for restoration, expert appraisal or participation in an exhibition, as are goods previously imported on a temporary basis for a period not exceeding two years; the operator must then obtain a temporary export authorisation (AST), even where the item is a national treasure.
Refusal to issue the certificate is not without consequence: it entitles the authorities, for a period of thirty months, to make a purchase offer at the international market price, determined if necessary by an independent valuation; in the absence of an offer, or if the owner refuses it without the authorities reiterating their refusal, the certificate must in principle be issued, unless the work is classified as a historic monument.
An operator exporting a work from France to Switzerland must therefore comply with several cumulative requirements: the certificate of free circulation (or temporary export authorisation), provided the item falls within the categories, age thresholds and value limits set out in the Heritage Code; the European export authorisation, if the object falls within the categories and thresholds – which may differ – set out in the Annex to Regulation 116/2009; then, once the border has been crossed, the Swiss import formalities set out in Article 4a CPTA and Articles 23 et seq. of its implementing ordinance (CPTO), failure to comply with which exposes the exporter to the penalties laid down in Article 24 CPTA.
Exporting from Switzerland to France
In contrast to the French system, Switzerland does not, in principle, subject the removal of goods from its territory to any general authorisation: neither the CPTA nor the Federal Act on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Disaster or Emergency (LPBC) requires an export licence for the art market as a whole: a liberal approach which partly explains the appeal of the art markets in Geneva, Zurich and Basel and their free ports.
There are two exceptions to this rule, based on distinct principles.
On the one hand, cultural property listed in the federal inventory (Article 3 CPTA) may, under Article 5 CPTA, only be exported temporarily for the purposes of research, conservation or exhibition, subject to prior authorisation from the relevant federal authority; their permanent export is strictly prohibited.
On the other hand, pursuant to Article 4 CPTA, cantons which regulate the export of cultural property located within their territory may compile their own inventories – linked, where appropriate, to the federal database – and make the removal, even on a temporary basis, of the property thus recorded subject to prior cantonal authorisation; a similar regime applies in several cantons to archaeological objects, the protection of which falls primarily under cantonal law rather than the CPTA itself.
Furthermore, a cultural object may leave Switzerland without any export formalities; in such cases, import controls are carried out on the French side, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/880 as described above.
Export sanctions
Under French criminal law, Article L. 114-1 of the Heritage Code provides for a penalty of two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 450,000 euros for the permanent or temporary export of a cultural object subject to a certificate or export authorisation where the holder has not obtained the required document or has failed to comply with its conditions.
Failure to comply with these formalities may therefore render the exporter criminally liable, even if the export is not for commercial purposes. In a judgement of 27 November 2013, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittal of owners who had exported Islamic art objects to Switzerland without prior declaration, noting that these objects had not lost their status as cultural property by virtue of being intended for personal use (Crim. 27 Nov. 2013, No. 12-81.618.).
On the Swiss side, these same breaches are subject to criminal penalties under Articles 24 and 25 of the aforementioned CPTA.
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Between France and Switzerland, the movement of cultural property is now subject to tighter controls on both sides of the border, introduced a few months apart: on the European side, the import licence or importer’s declaration, which have been in force since 28 June 2025; on the Swiss side, a reinforced implementing ordinance effective from 1 January 2026. For professionals in the art market as well as collectors, vigilance is therefore no longer limited to a single direction of movement: it must be exercised both on entry and on exit, in accordance with European, Swiss and French law, on pain of cumulative customs and criminal penalties.