EU Sanctions on Iran's Top Oil Tanker Group Annulled

European Union sanctions on Iran's main oil tanker firm NITC have been annulled after the EU did not appeal against a court ruling that the measures should be lifted, the shipping group's lawyer said on Tuesday.

An EU official told Reuters the European Union was working to resolve the issue, adding: "The time for appeal had elapsed but work is still ongoing on remedial action for maintaining the entity on the list."

In July the Luxembourg-based General Court, the second-highest court in the EU, ruled there were no grounds to blacklist NITC in the bloc after the company contested the designation. Rulings are typically suspended for two months pending appeals.

"We are glad to see the (European) Council accept the judgment of the EU court that the sanctions were unlawful, although it is regrettable that they did not see fit to lift the sanctions sooner," said Rovine Chandrasekera of law firm Stephenson Harwood, which represented NITC.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Robin Emmott in Brussels; Editing by Pravin Char)