2019-10-14

Central Bank of Tunisia Circular No. 2019-09 dated October 14, 2019

The Central Bank of Tunisia issued Circular No. 2019-09 to standardize remote and on-site data consultation procedures for natural and legal persons accessing records in its Information Center. The circular mandates free, secure online portal access, details registration and activation protocols for individuals and corporations, and implements a tiered fee schedule for counter services starting November 15, 2019. It further guarantees the right to request data rectification within ten working days, requires declaring institutions to maintain dedicated complaint email addresses, and authorizes the Bank to suspend services or reject requests based on verified identification or representative authority.

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Tunis, October 14, 2019 CIRCULAR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF TUNISIA No. 2019-09 Subject: Procedures for consulting data recorded in the Central Bank of Tunisia Information Center.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, Having regard to Organic Law No. 2004-63 of July 27, 2004, concerning the protection of personal data; Having regard to Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016, establishing the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia and in particular its Articles 38 and 40; Having regard to the provisions of the Commercial Code, as amended by subsequent legislation and in particular Law No. 2007-37 of June 4, 2007; Having regard to Circular No. 2008-06 of the Central Bank of Tunisia dated March 10, 2008, concerning the Information Center; Having regard to Opinion No. 2019-09 of the Compliance Control Committee dated October 8, 2019, as provided for by Article 42 of Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016, establishing the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia; Decides:

Article 1: This circular aims to establish the procedures for access by natural and legal persons to data concerning them, centralized by the Central Bank of Tunisia in accordance with current regulations, in a specific file hereinafter referred to as "the Information Center".

Article 2: Any natural or legal person may access remotely and free of charge the data concerning them recorded in the Information Center, via a special secure window on the Central Bank of Tunisia website, accessible through the link "https://online.bct.gov.tn", in accordance with the instructions specified in the user guide available on the same site.

Article 3: First-time access to the remote data consultation service recorded in the Information Center requires registration on the website mentioned in the preceding article, followed by activation of the user account, as follows:

  • For natural persons, subject to personal presence for identity verification, at the headquarters of the Central Bank or one of its branches or at a bank branch where the client's account is held, and submission of the registration form downloadable from the aforementioned website. Banks must carry out this operation free of charge in accordance with the instructions set out in Annex No. 1 to this circular. They must refuse registration activation requests if there are serious grounds, particularly regarding the identification of the concerned person.
  • For legal persons, subject to the presence of the legal representative for identity verification, at the headquarters or one of its branches, with submission of the documents requested and specified on the aforementioned website.

Article 4: The Central Bank of Tunisia may temporarily suspend the remote consultation service for reasons related to the security of data recorded in the Information Center.

Article 5: Natural and legal persons may request, at the counters of the Central Bank of Tunisia (either at its headquarters or one of its branches), consultation of data concerning them recorded in the Information Center. The service provided by the Central Bank counters for the consultation provided for in this article is subject to a fee, the amount of which is determined according to the nature of the service, in accordance with Annex No. 2 to this circular. To benefit from the consultation service, the following are required:

  • For natural persons: personal presence of the interested party and presentation, by them, of an identity document.
  • For legal persons: presence of their legal representative and presentation, by them, of an identity document and the original of a recent extract from the national business register or any other recent and reliable document expressly granting them the right to consult data related to the concerned legal person. Regarding consultation requests for data relating to legal persons, the Central Bank of Tunisia may, in order to verify the presented documents, reserve a period not exceeding two working days to respond to the service applicant.

Article 6: Following an on-site consultation request and after verification of the documents mentioned in the preceding article, the Central Bank of Tunisia issues a document containing data concerning the concerned person recorded in the Information Center.

Article 7: Any natural or legal person who disputes the accuracy of data concerning them, declared to the Information Center, has the right to request rectification of said data from the declaring institution. The latter is required to make necessary corrections if the data are found to be inaccurate and to inform, free of charge, the interested party within a period not exceeding 10 working days.

Article 8: Declaring institutions to the Information Center must create email addresses reserved for complaints relating to data declared to the Information Center. Links to these email addresses are indicated via the link "https://online.bct.gov.tn".

Article 9: The Central Bank of Tunisia may refuse on-site consultation requests or remote access service requests if there are serious grounds, particularly regarding the identification of the concerned person or the powers of the legal representative of the concerned legal person recorded in the Information Center.

Article 10: The provisions of Articles 6 and 7 of Circular No. 2008-06 dated March 10, 2008, concerning the Information Center, are hereby repealed.

Article 11: This circular enters into force from the date of its publication. However, the application of the fee referred to in Article 5 of this circular begins from November 15, 2019.

The Governor Marouane EL ABASSI

Annex No. 1 to Circular No. 2019-09 of the Central Bank of Tunisia Procedures for activating registration on the data consultation site: https://online.bct.gov.tn

The authorized agent to activate registrations on the website for clients of their bank branch and having previously obtained access rights to the activation service via the Central Bank's data exchange system (Event: validation of natural person registrations) must:

  • Ensure the conformity of the identity of the client requesting activation with the data indicated on the registration form downloaded from the site, duly completed and signed by them (see attached example);
  • Access the service (Event: validation of natural person registrations) via the data exchange system;
  • Enter the identity document number, as indicated on the registration form, then click the "consult" button;
  • Validate the registration by clicking the checkbox for each provided document, then activate the registration by clicking the dedicated button;
  • Sign the registration form indicating their name, surname, function, and date of execution of the activation task;
  • File the registration form in the client's folder at the bank branch.

Annex No. 2 to Circular No. 2019-09 of the Central Bank of Tunisia List of services provided to the public by the Central Bank of Tunisia (Information Center)

Service CodeNature of serviceTariff
CCP01Central Credit Register for IndividualsIndividual engagement form
CRI01Risk CenterEngagement form for companies and professionals
CRI02Risk CenterEngagement form for groups
CAC01Classified Debts CenterClassification form for individual engagements
CAC02Classified Debts CenterClassification form for company and professional engagements
CCI01Cheque Center (Unpaid Cheques)List of cheque payment incidents
CCI02Cheque Center (Unpaid Cheques)Certificate of lifting of prohibition
CB01Balance Sheet CenterSector positioning of the company based on financial indicators.