The ‘no Russia’ clause. What exporters must agree under Article 12g

Sanctions regulations directly prohibit European companies from exporting specified goods to Russia. For certain supplies outside the EU, Article 12g of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 also requires a contractual ban on re-export. The requirement does not apply to every country, contract or type of goods. Its purpose is to prevent goods from reaching Russia through a third country.

Which goods and contracts are covered?

The following quotation is reproduced in its original Slovak wording.

Pri predaji, dodávke, transfere alebo vývoze tovaru alebo technológií uvedených v prílohách XI, XX a XXXV k tomuto nariadeniu, spoločných položiek s vysokou prioritou uvedených v prílohe XL k tomuto nariadeniu alebo zbraní a streliva uvedených v prílohe I k nariadeniu (EÚ) č. 258/2012 do tretej krajiny, s výnimkou partnerských krajín uvedených v prílohe VIII k tomuto nariadeniu, vývozcovia od 20. marca 2024 zmluvne zakážu ich spätný vývoz do Ruska a spätný vývoz na použitie v Rusku.

Article 12g(1) of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, consolidated version of 24 July 2026, in Slovak

The type of goods is the main consideration. In its questions and answers on Article 12g, the European Commission describes the annexes as covering aviation-related goods and jet fuel, firearms and common high priority items. Annex XL identifies goods by Combined Nomenclature codes, so exporters first need to classify their own products correctly.

The requirement does not apply in the following cases:

• sales to the partner countries in Annex VIII, namely the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland,
• public contracts concluded with a public authority in a third country or an international organisation, although the exporter must inform the competent authority of each such contract within two weeks of its conclusion (Article 12g(2a) and (2b)),
• the execution of contracts concerning machining centres, numerically controlled lathes and milling machines, and parts and accessories for machine tools falling under the CN codes listed in Article 12g(2)(a).

Contracts concluded before 19 December 2023 benefited from a transitional period, which ended no later than 1 January 2025. Long-term contracts that fall within the requirement and are still being performed therefore need to be amended. For contracts concluded before 19 December 2023, the Commission exceptionally accepts unilateral notification of the prohibition and the remedies. However, the exporter must show that it made its best efforts to agree the clause and failed because of circumstances beyond its control. The customer’s refusal alone is therefore insufficient. According to the Commission, the clause is not required for contracts between businesses established in the EU where delivery takes place solely within the EU, because Article 12g concerns sales or exports to a third country.

What must the clause contain?

The Regulation requires a prohibition on re-export to Russia and re-export for use in Russia (Article 12g(1)), together with adequate remedies if the customer breaches that prohibition (Article 12g(3)). The Commission gives suspension of deliveries, termination of the contract and a contractual penalty as examples of such remedies. It also recommends identifying the clause as an essential element of the contract. Its model wording requires the customer to use its best efforts to ensure that the prohibition is respected further down the commercial chain and to provide information on compliance within two weeks of a request. Using the model is not mandatory. The agreed clause must nevertheless meet the requirements of Article 12g.

According to the Commission, a general clause prohibiting exports to countries subject to EU restrictive measures is also sufficient if it includes remedies. The prohibition can be included in business terms and conditions, provided they validly form part of the contract. For an exporter’s own terms and conditions in a contract governed by Slovak law, this means that they must be known to the parties or attached to the offer (Section 273(1) of the Slovak Commercial Code). Our answer on when business terms and conditions become part of a contract explains when this applies. It is advisable to include an express right to withdraw from the contract for breach of the clause, since withdrawal is also available in cases specified by the contract (Section 344). If the contract is governed by foreign law, the agreed remedies need to be checked against that law.

What must the exporter report?

If the customer breaches the contractual obligation, the exporter must inform the competent authority of the state in which it is established or resident as soon as it becomes aware of the breach (Article 12g(4)). For Slovakia, Annex I to the Regulation refers to the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. In its questions and answers, the Commission states that contracts must comply with the requirement no later than the time of sale or export. The exporter should be able to demonstrate compliance at the competent authority’s request.

Related obligations for sensitive goods

Anyone selling, supplying, transferring or exporting common high priority items listed in Annex XL or goods listed in Annex XLVIII must assess the risks of those goods being exported to Russia, in proportion to their nature and size. They must document the assessment, keep it up to date and introduce policies, controls and procedures to mitigate the risks (Article 12gb(1)). This has applied to Annex XL goods since 26 December 2024 and to Annex XLVIII goods since 26 May 2025. The requirement does not apply to those who sell, supply or transfer such goods solely within the EU or to partner countries, or export them solely to those countries (Article 12gb(2)). A company must ensure that the same requirements are met by entities outside the EU that it owns or controls and that trade in those goods in the ways described, unless it cannot exercise control over them for reasons it did not cause (Article 12gb(3) and (4)). Article 12ga requires a similar contractual prohibition when selling, licensing or otherwise transferring intellectual property rights and trade secrets related to Annex XL goods, or granting access to them.

Penalties under Slovak law

Member States determine the penalties for breaches of the Regulation (Article 8). Under Slovak law, an international sanction includes a requirement or prohibition imposed by a legally binding EU act (Section 2(a) and (b) of Act No. 289/2016 Z. z.). Failure to comply with Article 12g may therefore constitute an administrative offence for which a legal entity or entrepreneur faces a fine of EUR 50,000 to EUR 132,800 (Section 22(1)(a) and (2) of Act No. 289/2016 Z. z.). The higher fine provided for where a benefit or damage exceeds EUR 16,600, or where there is another particularly serious consequence, does not apply to sanctions arising from EU acts (Section 22(4)). A company is released from liability if it proves that it made every effort that could have been made to prevent the breach (Section 23(2)). The administrative authority may initiate proceedings within three years of learning of the offence, but no later than ten years after the breach (Section 23(4)).

How we can help

We can prepare the clause for export contracts and business terms and conditions through our bespoke commercial contract and general terms and conditions services. We can check existing contracts with customers outside the EU through our contract review service. If you are signing a contract with a customer in more than one language, see our bilingual contracts service.