A guide to the export and import of cultural goods between Russia ...

Chapter 3: European Union Member States
Poland
office of the Voivodship conservator. It will then be sent to the State Centre for Protection
of Public Collections. Your application must include the following:
• Report on examination of the object in the Voivodship Conservator of Relics office
• Information on ownership
• Authorisation for the person following-up the export formalities (if appropriate)
• Assessment by an expert
• 2 or 3 (for export outside the EU) photographs size 9 x 13 cm
• Confirmation of payment of 25 % of the object’s value to the account of the Treasury
Department, Warsaw, Central District
It should take not longer than one month to obtain a decision on an export permit. Applications
which require the opinion of experts from outside of the Export Committee of the Minister
of Culture and National Heritage will take longer but should not exceed two months.
How do I find if the art object I want to export is of national significance? Is there a Public
Inventory of cultural goods of special interest or importance?
There is a National Register of Cultural Goods (kept by the National Centre for Research
and Documentation of Cultural Goods). This collects the registers of cultural goods kept
by the Voivodship Conservators of cultural goods. Under Polish law there is no category
of cultural goods of special importance.
The State Centre for Protection of Public Collections in Warsaw keeps a National Register
of stolen cultural goods or cultural goods illicitly exported abroad. This has been created
to assist institutions dealing with detection of thefts and illicit export of relics, but it is also
available, in a limited scope, free-of-charge to individual researchers.
Are there any exemptions for particular goods?
There are various exemptions which are listed above.
Do museums and galleries need licences for temporary exports (e.g. a touring exhibition)? Do
non-profit organisations need export licences?
Yes. The procedure is the same as for permanent export permits.
I am a visual artist. Do I need a licence to export my own work?
No. Works of art by living artists do not require an export licence under Polish national legislation.
I am a tourist visiting Poland. If I buy a work of art, how do I take it home with me?
If you intend to export your work of art permanently to Russia, you may need an export
permit. This is always the case if the object meets the criteria for cultural goods under
national Polish Law or the EU legislation on the export of cultural goods. You must submit
your application to the Voivodship conservator as described above.
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