Part 1: Sanctions regulations Chapter 1: Power to make sanctions regulations Section 15: Exceptions and licences
This section enables Ministers to disapply the effect of sanctions in particular circumstances.
	Subsection (2)(a) enables regulations to provide for exceptions to any prohibition or requirement imposed by regulations. Examples of where an exception may be used are:
to enable interest or other earnings on accounts to accrue, provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments will also be frozen;
to enable financial or credit institutions in the UK to credit frozen accounts where they receive funds transferred to the account of a sanctioned person, entity or body, provided that any credits to such accounts will also be frozen;
to enable the export of, and associated technical assistance for, equipment used by peacekeeping missions.
	Subsection (2)(b) provides that persons may take any actions which would otherwise breach the prohibitions in the regulations, if they do so under authority of a licence granted by an appropriate Minister. Licensing grounds for sanctions may include:
payments to satisfy the essential needs and/or payments necessary for basic expenses of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies, such as food, rent, and energy;
payment for insurance;
payment of reasonable professional fees and the reimbursement of reasonable and necessary incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services;
payment of fees or service charges for routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources;
payments required in extraordinary situations or for extraordinary expenses;
payments required by a court order;
payment due under contracts, agreements or obligations that were concluded or arose before the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in the asset freeze was sanctioned;
payment necessary to ensure human safety, environmental protection or evacuations, or for the verification and destruction of chemical weapons;
payment intended to be used for official purposes of a diplomatic mission, consular post or international organisation;
export of goods or transfer of technology for humanitarian purposes; or
brokering, technical assistance, and other services provided for humanitarian purposes.
	Subsection (3) deals with the contents, scope and duration of licences issued by an appropriate Minister. A licence must specify the acts it authorises. It may be general, or granted to a category of persons or to a particular person. It may be subject to conditions. It may be of indefinite duration, or subject to an expiry date. A general licence may authorise multiple parties to undertake specific activities, for example certain types of transactions relating to humanitarian aid. A licence may be varied or revoked, and any such changes will be communicated to any affected designated person or their authorised representative.
	This section also provides a power to make exceptions to a travel ban either for an individual or for a group of individuals. This provides the flexibility to disapply the effects of a travel ban on a case-by-case basis, for example to allow an individual to travel to attend an international conference convened by an intergovernmental organisation. This can be done either in the regulation itself or by a direction of the appropriate Minister at a later date.
	Subsection (6) clarifies that exceptions to the prohibitions and requirements in any regulations to be made may be made to support activity carried out for the purposes of national security or the prevention or detection of serious crime.