About us

The Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI), part of the Department for Business and Trade, was launched in October 2024. Our purpose is to strengthen the United Kingdom's implementation and enforcement of trade sanctions.

OTSI is here to support businesses with compliance, including by issuing licences, but also to take action where businesses are breaching our sanctions or seeking to circumvent them.

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Our priorities are:聽

  • raising awareness of trade sanctions聽聽

  • supporting businesses with trade sanctions compliance聽

  • issuing licences

  • detecting and responding to suspected breaches, including taking appropriate and proportionate enforcement action where necessary聽聽

To achieve the first two points, we engage with, and are a key contact for, businesses where help is needed. We also issue timely and user-friendly guidance, as needed, to help businesses understand how to comply.聽We assess applications for licences to carry out activity that would otherwise be sanctioned.

We work in partnership with HMRC to enforce trade sanctions.

Trade sanctions apply to:鈥�

  • all individuals or businesses within the territory and territorial sea of the鈥疷K鈥�

  • all UK鈥痭ationals or鈥疷K鈥痓usinesses established under鈥疷K鈥痩aw, wherever they are in the world鈥�

This means鈥痺e鈥痗an investigate suspected breaches committed by:鈥�

  • individuals and legal entities who are within, or undertake activities within, the鈥疷K鈥檚 territory鈥�

  • UK individuals and legal entities established under UK law, regardless of where in the world the breach takes place

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We are responsible for civil enforcement concerning the:聽

  • provision or procurement of sanctioned trade services聽

  • movement, making available or acquisition of sanctioned goods outside the UK聽

  • transferring, making available or acquisition of sanctioned technology outside the UK聽

  • providing ancillary services to the movement, making available or acquisition of sanctioned goods outside the UK聽

  • providing ancillary services to the transfer, making available or acquisition of sanctioned technology outside the UK聽

We are also responsible for licensing relating to the provision of standalone services, including professional and business services, which is otherwise prohibited under UK sanctions regimes.

The licensing of ancillary services to the movement of goods will continue to be the responsibility of the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU).

HMRC is responsible for enforcing trade sanctions where they relate to:聽

  • import or export of goods to, or from, the UK聽

  • transfer of technology to, or from, the UK聽

  • provision of ancillary services relating to the import and export of goods and the transfer of technology to, or from, the UK聽

  • goods and technology, such as military and dual-use goods and technology, which are subject to strategic export controls聽

HMRC is also responsible for the criminal enforcement of all trade sanctions.

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