Afghanistan sanctions: guidance

23.4.2026 - | Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

Statutory guidance for the Afghanistan sanctions regime, plus a summary of its purposes, scope and prohibitions.

The Afghanistan (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, and certain other regulations, are in force to implement certain UN obligations.

This summary gives a quick overview of the sanctions in place under the regime. It is not comprehensive and is not a replacement for the statutory guidance or the regulations themselves.

Summary

Regime is limited in scope to sanctions targeting designated persons only.

Designated persons

The UK Sanctions List tells you who is designated under the regime and which sanctions have been applied to them. A designated person can be an individual, a business or an organisation.

The statutory guidance lists in detail the sanctions that can apply in respect of designated persons, including:

• an asset freeze on their funds and other assets
• making available funds or economic resources to them or for their benefit
• a ban on exporting to them or otherwise supplying to them or for their benefit military goods or military technology
• a ban on providing them with technical assistance, financial services or funds or associated brokering services if this enables or facilitates armed hostilities
• a ban on transferring to them or for their benefit any military technology
• immigration sanction (travel ban)

Related financial services, brokering services and technical assistance are also subject to sanctions.

Sanctioned goods and services

Besides the prohibition on supplying certain goods and services to designated persons there are no sanctions that apply in respect of goods and services under this regime.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-sanctions-guidance