The Venezuela (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2018

Licences granted by the Governor

11.—(1) The Governor may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, grant a licence authorising an activity that would otherwise be prohibited under article 4, 7, 9 or 10.

(2) A person is not guilty of an offence under article 4, 7, 9 or 10 in respect of anything done by the person under the authority of a licence granted by the Governor.

(3) A licence may relate to—

(a) payment of basic expenses of designated persons and their dependent family members, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines, medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums and public utility charges;

(b) payment of reasonable professional fees and expenses associated with the provision of legal services;

(c) payment of fees or service charges for the routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources;

(d) payment of necessary extraordinary expenses;

(e) satisfaction of an arbitral decision rendered before the date on which the designated person was so designated, or satisfaction of a judicial or administrative decision;

(f) payment due under a contract or agreement concluded by, or an obligation that arose before, the date on which the designated person was so designated provided that the payment is not for the benefit of a designated person;

(g) equipment which the Governor has determined is intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, or for institution-building programmes of the United Nations or the European Union or its Member States or of regional and sub-regional organisations;

(h) material which the Governor has determined is intended for crisis management operations of the United Nations or the European Union or of regional and sub-regional organisations;

(i) demining equipment and materiel which the Governor has determined is for use in demining operations;

(j) the maintenance of non-lethal equipment where the Governor has determined that the equipment is intended for use by the navy and coastguard of Venezuela solely for the purpose of border protection, regional stability or the interception of narcotics;

(k) surveillance equipment or surveillance services, provided that the Governor has determined that the surveillance equipment or surveillance services would not be used for internal repression by the Government of Venezuela, its public bodies, corporations or agencies, or any person or entity acting on their behalf or at their direction.

(4) A licence must specify the acts authorised by it and may be—

(a) general or granted to a category of persons or to a particular person,

(b) subject to conditions, and

(c) of indefinite duration or subject to an expiry date.

(5) The Governor may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, vary or revoke a licence at any time.

(6) On the grant, variation or revocation of a licence, the Governor must—

(a) in the case of a licence granted to a particular person, give written notice of the grant, variation or revocation to that person, and

(b) in the case of a general licence or a licence granted to a category of persons, take such steps as the Governor considers appropriate to publicise the grant, variation or revocation of the licence.

(7) Any notice to be given to a person by the Governor under paragraph (6) may be given—

(a) by posting it to the person’s last known address, or

(b) where the person is a body corporate, partnership or unincorporated body other than a partnership, by posting it to the registered or principal office in the Territory of the body or partnership.

(8) Where the Governor does not have an address in the Territory for the person, the Governor must make arrangements for the notice to be given to the person at the first available opportunity.

(9) Failing to comply with any condition in the licence is acting in a way that is not authorised by the licence unless—

(a) the licence was modified after the completion of the act authorised by the licence, and

(b) the alleged failure to comply with a condition in the licence would not have been a failure if the licence had not been so modified.

(10) It is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly make any statement or give any document or information which is false in a material particular for the purpose of obtaining a licence.

(11) A licence granted in connection with the application for which the false statement was made or the false document or information given is void from the time it was granted.