OFAC removes Syria licence from terrorism regulations

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a final rule removing and reserving § 596.505 of the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations, effective 25 September 2026.

The Federal Register rule implements changes following the rescission of Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. It affects 31 CFR part 596 and does not itself say that every Syria-related sanctions authority has ended.

The rule follows the President’s certification and report to Congress on 8 July 2026. The Treasury instrument says the President certified that the Government of Syria had not supported acts of international terrorism during the preceding six-month period and had provided assurances that it would not do so in the future.

The Secretary of State rescinded Syria’s designation effective 24 August 2026. OFAC says the Government of Syria is therefore no longer a Terrorism List Government for purposes of part 596. The agency says the Syria-specific authorisation in § 596.505 was no longer necessary and removed and reserved the section.

The procedural posture is a final rule, not a proposal or enforcement decision. OFAC says the rule involves a foreign affairs function, so notice-and-comment requirements and the ordinary delay before effectiveness do not apply.

A narrow rule change with immediate control implications

The rule itself does not mandate a review of customer files, compliance playbooks or correspondent-banking records. Those steps are compliance implications of the provision’s removal rather than requirements stated in the instrument.

Firms should identify screening and transaction-review logic that treats § 596.505 as an available Syria exception, then determine whether their controls should remove or deactivate that licence. They should also assess references to the provision in escalation procedures, licensing playbooks and counterparty documentation.

A transaction escalated because it relies on an outdated exception should not be cleared solely through that former licence reference. The review must distinguish the removal of this Syria-specific general licence from separate OFAC authorities, State Department measures and other restrictions that may apply to Syria-related activity.

The operative amendment is short: "Remove and reserve § 596.505." The rule therefore no longer provides that section as an operative general licence; it does not replace the provision with another authorisation.

The rule also says that willful violations of the regulations may be subject to criminal penalties under 50 U.S.C. 1705. That provision does not create a new reporting form or implementation timetable.

The record identifies no next OFAC notice, Treasury clarification or scheduled implementation event. It also identifies no transition period, reporting form or additional implementation deadline. Further developments should be checked against the official OFAC and Federal Register records.