The BPMA made the following important announcement on Friday which relates to the entire industry:
Today in Russia, Putin has announced the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following sham referendums. Under new sanctions announced today, Russia will lose access to major western services that Russia depends on, including: IT consultancy, architectural services, engineering services, and transactional legal advisory services for certain commercial activity. UK has also banned the export of nearly 700 goods that are crucial to Russia’s industrial and technological capabilities.
In response to the escalation of events in Ukraine and in concert with international partners, further sanctions on Russia have been announced today. Services in scope, in addition to those announced in May by the UK Government (accounting, business and management consultancy and PR,) are as follows:
- IT consultancy services
- Architectural services
- Engineering services
- Advertising services
- Transactional legal advisory services
- Auditing services
Companies will be breaking the law if they export the above services to Russia or to persons connected to Russia once the legislation comes into force. The interval between announcement and coming into force for the last set of sanctions was just under 3 months. An exception and licensing regime will exist, but will be narrow in scope. It may be prudent for businesses to act now to mitigate the risk of illegal activity by reassessing their current services provision to Russia, if any, and taking appropriate action.
Broadly, advertising services generally applies to traditional advertising but will also include any forms of advertising which will cover merchandise.
Whilst we are aware not many UK based companies now operate in Russia, the BPMA wishes to make members aware so those companies who may be affected can take appropriate action.
Need assistance? The Government helpline with issues related to these sanctions is 0300 303 8955 or please use the dedicated online service for these markets.
Published on: October 3rd, 2022
