Sanctions General Licence

General licence - IOM/2022/SAN002

The Treasury has the power to issue General Licences for country sanctions regimes under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (“the Sanctions Act”), as those Regulations have effect in the Isle of Man.

On 27 February 2023, the Treasury amended General Licence IOM/2022/SAN002 under all Autonomous Sanctions Regulations listed in Annex I of this notice. This allows for payment to utility companies for gas and electricity by designated persons who own or rent properties in the Isle of Man or UK.

Any persons intending to use General Licence IOM/2022/SAN002 should consult the copy of the Licence for full details of the permissions and usage requirements which can be found attached to this release.

For the purposes of General Licence IOM/2022/SAN002:

• Energy Companies mean OFGEM registered firms with permission to provide gas and/or electricity to properties in the UK, Isle of Man Energy and Manx Utilities.
• DPs mean those individuals or entities designated under the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations only, but not those sanctioned by the United Nations.
• Return Payments means payments due as a result of over-payments made pursuant to this licence or in relation to the UK Government energy subsidy payments under the Energy Bills Support Scheme over winter 2022 to 2023.
• Permitted Payments means utility payments for gas and electricity supplies to Isle of Man or UK properties owned or rented by DPs.

A Relevant Institution means:

• a person who is licensed under the Financial Services Act 2008 (of Tynwald) to carry on a regulated activity within the meaning of section 3 of that Act;
• a person who is authorised or registered under the Insurance Act 2008 (of Tynwald) or holds a permit under that Act;
• a person who is registered under the Moneylenders Act 1991 (of Tynwald) to carry on the business of lending money;
• a person who is acting as a trustee or an administrator of a retirement benefits scheme within the meaning of the Retirement Benefits Schemes Act 2008 (of Tynwald)

Under General Licence IOM/2022/SAN002 DPs may make Permitted Payments to Energy Companies from a frozen Isle of Man or UK bank account by bank transfer or by direct debit; Energy Companies may receive the Permitted Payments; Energy Companies may make Return Payments to frozen Isle of Man or UK bank accounts and DPs may receive Return Payments from Energy Companies into a frozen Isle of Man or UK bank account.

The reporting and record-keeping requirements for DPs and Energy Companies are set out in the General Licence.

General

The permissions in General Licence IOM/2022/SAN002 do not authorise any act which the person carrying out the act knows, or has reasonable grounds for suspecting, will result in funds or economic resources being made available in breach of the relevant autonomous sanctions Regulations, save as permitted under a licence granted under those Regulations.

The General Licence takes effect from the date of issue. On 27 February 2023 it was extended and will now expire at 23:59 on 16 October 2023.

Further details of the sanctions regime related to Russia may be found on the Customs and Excise pages of the Isle of Man Government website.

Annex I – Autonomous Sanctions Regulations Schedules