Exchange Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2016

The Minister responsible for exchange control in Belize issued Statutory Instrument No. 66 of 2016 to amend the principal Exchange Control Regulations. The instrument modifies Regulation 32 to specify directions regarding investment types, maturity limits, and terms for accepting gold or foreign currency by authorized dealers. It also inserts a new paragraph into Regulation 35 empowering the Central Bank to limit, suspend, or revoke authorized dealer orders and transfer foreign currency holdings to minimize domestic supply disruptions.

Belize

Central Bank of Belize

No. 66] Exchange Control Regulations, 2016 1

BELIZE:

STATUTORY INSTRUMENT

No. 66 of 2016

REGULATIONS made by the Minister responsible for exchange control in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 3 of the Exchange Control Regulation Act, Chapter 52 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2011, and all other powers thereunto him enabling.

(Gazetted 9th September, 2016)

These Regulations may be cited as the Citation.

Exchange Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2016,

and shall be read and construed as one with the Exchange Control Regulations, which, as amended, are hereinafter referred to as the principal Regulations.

Regulation 32 (2) of the principal Regulations is Amendment of amended by deleting sub- paragraph (ii) and substituting regulation 32. therefor the following –

"(ii) in the case of authorised dealers, such directions as specified in sub-paragraph (i), or directions as to the types of investments and maturity limits for funds invested abroad, or directions as to the terms on which they are to accept gold or foreign currency, or directions requiring them to offer their gold or specified currency for sale in such manner as may be prescribed on such terms as may be specified in any such directions."

2 Exchange Control Regulations, 2016 [No. 66

Amendment of 3. Regulation 35 of the principal Regulations is amended regulation 35. by inserting next after paragraph (4) the following as paragraph (4A) -

"(4A) The Central Bank may limit, suspend, or revoke an order authorising a person to act as an authorised dealer if there is a change in the business circumstances of the person which renders the person incapable of fulfilling any or all functions delegated under these Regulations, and in order to minimize disruptions to the domestic supply of foreign currency, the Central Bank may direct that a portion, or all, of the gold and foreign currency holdings of the affected authorised dealer be transferred or sold either to the Central Bank or to one or more other authorised dealers whose capacity to execute foreign currency transactions has not been similarly affected.

MADE by the Minister responsible for Exchange Control this 8th day of September, 2016.

[Signature]

RT. HON. DEAN O BARROW Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Public Service, Energy and Public Utilities (Minister responsible for Exchange Control)

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