FIFA has told Sky Sports News that Barcelona are still able to sign players this year as long as they do not register them before next January.
Last April, Barca were found guilty of breaking FIFA rules on the transfer of players under the age of 18 and banned from registering any new players for 14 months.
The club appealed against the sanction in August, and the ban was temporarily suspended, enabling them to bring in players including Luis Suarez before the end of the summer transfer window.
In August, the FIFA Appeals Committee rejected Barcelona’s appeal, and in December the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld their punishment.
But FIFA said that did not mean there was anything to stop Barcelona from talking to potential transfer targets or actually purchasing players on the condition that they were not registered before January.
It added, however, that such talks would go against the spirit of the ruling.
FIFA’s clarification came after reports in Spain suggested Barca were interested in bringing in players including Juan Mata for the 2015-16 season.