Base de connaissances
Article 12gb due diligence step by step
Mis à jour : 9 septembre 2026
Ce guide est pour le moment disponible uniquement en anglais.
Until recently sanctions compliance came down to "is my code on the list". Article 12gb changed the question to "can you show how you checked". For an exporter of common high priority items that is the difference between compliance on your word and compliance on file.
Who it applies to
The obligation covers anyone who sells, supplies, transfers or exports goods listed in Annex XL (common high priority items) or Annex XLVIII to Regulation 833/2014. There is no turnover threshold and no carve-out for small firms: the provision speaks of measures proportionate to the nature and size of the business, not of an exemption.
The obligation reaches beyond the Union border. An EU operator must ensure that the requirements are also applied by its non-EU subsidiaries. This is the provision behind a European head office asking its Chinese or Turkish affiliate for end-customer data.
Four things you have to do
First, identify and assess the risk that the goods may reach Russia or be used there. Second, document that assessment and keep it up to date, because the risk changes with the route, the counterparty and each new package. Third, extend the requirements to non-EU subsidiaries. Fourth, keep the trace: who checked, what they checked, when, and against which version of the provision.
An inspection does not ask about intentions, it asks for documents. "We checked, everything was fine" without a date and a version of the act is worth as much in proceedings as no check at all.
What to keep
A dated CN code check result naming the consolidated version of the regulation. The contract with the No Russia clause, if the sale goes to a third country outside the partner list. An end-user statement. A record of the doubts and how they were resolved: that record is what turns a formality into a process.
Common mistakes
First: treating the XL list as a ban. It is not a ban, it is a switch that turns on obligations. Goods on the list may be sold to a third country, but with a check and a clause.
Second: checking once, at the first transaction with a customer. Packages arrive every few weeks and the status of a code can change between one shipment and the next.
Third: relying on the customs agency. The agency answers for the declaration, not for the transaction being sanctions-compliant. In a dispute the party with its own record of the check prevails.
Questions fréquentes
Does Article 12gb apply to small companies?
Yes. The provision speaks of measures proportionate to the nature and size of the business, so a small firm does the same thing less formally, but is not exempt.
Is checking the CN code enough?
No. The CN code is the starting point. The risk assessment also covers the customer, the destination country, the route and any signals of diversion.
How long should the documentation be kept?
As long as proceedings about the transaction remain possible. In practice the criminal and tax limitation periods are used, meaning at least five years.
Plus d'articles dans la base de connaissances
- Sanctions on machinery and machine tools of chapter 84
- CN code and TARIC when checking sanctions
- Penalties for breaching sanctions: what Directive 2024/1226 introduced
- Third countries and diversion of goods to Russia
- Sanctions on car parts: what the 8708 entry actually says
- How to check whether goods are subject to EU sanctions, step by step
- CN code and sanctions: how to read the annexes to Regulation 833/2014
- Exemptions and derogations in the sanctions against Russia, when trade is allowed
- Goods sanctions vs screening of persons and entities, how they differ
- Exporter obligations after the 2025 amendment (end-user statement)
- Penalties for breaching sanctions in Poland (up to PLN 20 million)
- The most commonly checked CN codes covered by EU sanctions against Russia
- CBAM versus EU sanctions, how they differ and why you check both
Informational content based on EU regulations (833/2014, 765/2006) and the act of 13 April 2022 (Journal of Laws 2022 item 835). It does not constitute legal or customs advice. The binding source is the text of the act in EUR-Lex and the decision of the customs authorities. In case of doubt, consult an adviser.