1. On 20 January 2014 the EU amended the sanctions against Iran. The amendments are set out in Council Regulation 2014/42/EU amending Council Regulation (EU) 267/2012. These amendments implement within the EU the Joint Plan of Action agreed in Geneva on 24 November 2013 by the E3+3 (UK, France, Germany, USA, Russia and China) and Iran as a first step towards solving the Iranian nuclear issue.
2. There will be no changes to UK legislation as a result of these changes to EU sanctions.
Amended Restrictions
3.The following sanctions have been suspended for a period of six months, which may be renewed depending on Iran’s progress in implementing the Joint Plan of Action:
- the prohibition on the provision of insurance and reinsurance and transport for Iranian crude oil
- the prohibition on the import, purchase or transport of Iranian petrochemical products and on the provision of related services
- the prohibition on trade in gold and precious metals with the Government of Iran, its public bodies and the Central Bank of Iran, or persons and entities acting on their behalf.
4. More details:
- The amendments are contained in Council Regulation 2014/42/EU (“the Amending Regulation”).
- The revised sanctions also include increases of the authorisation thresholds in relations to the transfers of funds to and from Iran. See HM Treasury Financial Sanctions Notice 210114
How do these changes affect me as an exporter?
5. All other EU sanctions and restrictions remain in place and exporters should familiarise themselves with Council Regulation (EU) 267/2012. A consolidated version of the Regulation including all amendments prior to this one is available here.
6. The Government’s general position on trade with Iran, i.e. that we do not encourage or support trade with Iran but provided companies comply with all applicable restrictive measures they are free to proceed at their own risk, also remains unchanged. The Government will continue to enforce all existing sanctions.
More Information
See previous Notices to Exporters about sanctions on Iran:
2010/21
2010/25
2010/34
2012/18
2012/19
2012/22
Contact details
For further information about strategic export controls, please contact:
Export Control Organisation
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
1 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0ET
Tel: 020 7215 4594
E-mail: eco.help@bis.gsi.gov.uk
Fax: 020 7215 2635
More information on export controls is available on the ECO pages of the GOV.UK website, also the SPIRE Export Licensing Database.
As part of the move to GOV.UK, all previous Notices to Exporters have been filed at the National Archives.
This notice is for information only and has no force in law. If the information here applies to your business, we recommend you take appropriate action; including seeking legal advice if necessary.
We also advise you to keep a copy of this notice for your compliance records.