Foreign Exchange Policy – Rules and Procedures for Foreign Exchange Operations by Individuals

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PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE, 1ST SERIES, NO. 155, OF DECEMBER 2, 2019 NOTICE NO. 12/2019 SUBJECT: FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICY – Rules and Procedures for Foreign Exchange Operations by Individuals

Whereas it is necessary to update and clarify the rules and procedures for making foreign exchange payments on current invisible transactions, goods, and capital operations ordered by resident and non-resident individuals; In the exercise of the powers conferred by the combined provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 28 of Law No. 5/97, dated July 27 – Foreign Exchange Law, and Article 40 of Law No. 16/10, dated July 15, National Bank of Angola Law;

DETERMINED:

CHAPTER I
General Provisions

Article 1.
(Object)
This Notice establishes the rules and procedures to be observed in carrying out foreign exchange operations by individuals, namely:

1. Operations of Resident Individuals
   a) Current Invisible Transactions, namely:
   i. Private operations ordered by individuals for travel expenses, private unilateral transfers, including family support, education, and health;
   ii. Transfer of accumulated resources by a foreign citizen during their residence in the country under a residence authorization visa, at the end of their stay or mission completion;
   b) Private Goods Import Operations ordered by Individuals; c) Capital Operations, namely:
   i. Acquisition of real estate or financial assets abroad;
   ii. Financing contracted with a foreign financial institution for any purpose;
2. Operations of Non-Resident Individuals under a Work Visa
   a) Current Invisible Transactions, namely:
   i. Transfer of employment remuneration;
   ii. Transfer of imported resources to the country;
   iii. Transfer of capital income;
   iv. Transfer of accumulated resources during temporary residence, upon cessation of stay.

Article 2.
(Scope)
The recipients of the provisions in this Notice are the parties involved in carrying out foreign exchange operations, namely:
a) Individuals ordering the aforementioned operations; b) Financial Institutions acting as intermediaries in these operations.

Article 3.
(Definitions)
For the purposes of this Notice, it is understood that:
a) Foreign Exchange Coverage: availability in foreign currency intended for the settlement of a foreign exchange operation. b) Financial Institution: Banking or non-banking financial institution that, under Law No. 12/2015 of June 17, may conduct foreign exchange trade within its corporate object and has been licensed by the National Bank of Angola for this purpose. c) Foreign Exchange Settlement: payment or other form of extinguishment of a foreign exchange obligation. d) Licensing: administrative process by which authorization is granted to the Financial Institution to settle current invisible operations, which under this Notice are not exempt from prior authorization by the National Bank of Angola. e) Foreign Exchange Operation: any act, business, or transaction carried out between a resident and non-resident individual, which may result in payment or receipt abroad, or is simply qualified by law as such. f) Resident Individual: as defined in paragraph 1 of Article 4 of Law No. 5/97 of June 27, Foreign Exchange Law, including a foreign citizen residing in Angola under a residence visa. g) Non-Resident Individual: as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 4 of Law No. 5/97 of June 27, Foreign Exchange Law. h) Personal Capital Operations: transfers or transactions to and from abroad relating to (i) donations, dowries, and loans of exclusively civil nature; (ii) payment of installments due by insurance companies resulting from direct life insurance contracts, excluding pensions and annuities; i) Foreign Exchange Registration: collection, electronic processing, and maintenance of essential information regarding a foreign exchange operation in the Integrated Foreign Exchange Operations System (SINOC). j) Income: receipts from the use of production factors, namely land, labor, and capital. k) Integrated Foreign Exchange Operations System (SINOC): automated information system provided by the National Bank of Angola to Financial Institutions for approval and licensing of foreign exchange contracts and registration of payments and receipts. l) Transfer for Family Support or Maintenance of Individuals: sending of funds by a resident entity, intended for the maintenance of direct relatives who are financially dependent on residents in the country. m) Current Transfers: financial flows sent abroad by private entities, without counterparty of goods, services, financial applications, or investment, namely family support transfers, educational, scientific, and cultural purposes, health treatment, periodic contributions to professional bodies, as well as other transfers of identical nature. n) Transfers for Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Purposes: sending of funds by a resident entity to cover expenses of persons who habitually reside in the country and are abroad fulfilling academic, professional, or scientific programs, including scholarships. These transfers, in addition to tuition fees, also include accommodation, food, transport, and other similar
costs. o) Transfers for Health Treatment: sending of funds by a resident entity to cover health treatment expenses abroad, including reimbursement of already incurred expenses, as well as the performance of medical examinations and other medical and laboratory services. p) Travel: expenses related to accommodation, food, and transport during the traveler's stay in the host country, provided that the period of stay is less than one year.

Article 4.
(Financial Intermediation)
Foreign exchange operations may only be intermediated by a Financial Institution authorized to conduct foreign exchange trade, under the prevailing legislation.
Article 5.
(Licensing)

1. The operations covered by this Notice, except those referred to in paragraph 3 of this article, are exempt from licensing by the National Bank of Angola, without prejudice to the obligation of registration as provided in Article 7.
2. Goods import operations carried out by individuals are subject to the regulations on rules and procedures applicable to foreign exchange operations for goods import and export.
3. Capital operations carried out by individuals are subject to prior licensing by the National Bank of Angola as provided in this Notice.
   Article 6.
   (Responsibility of Financial Institutions in Processing Foreign Exchange Operations)
4. Financial Institutions must ensure, before executing any foreign exchange operation under this Notice or submitting it to the National Bank of Angola for licensing, that they meet all necessary requirements for execution as referred to in foreign exchange legislation and regulations, as well as anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) legislation and regulations.
5. Financial Institutions may only execute foreign exchange operations upon request by ordering parties:
   a) Who are their clients and with whom they have regular relations, and whose account opening processes are adequately documented and updated, as required by prevailing legislation; b) After determining the financial capacity of said ordering parties considering their proven income and responsibilities, ensuring the legitimacy of possession of national currency used to purchase foreign currency or the clients' own foreign currency resources; c) After evaluating the compatibility of the value of the requested operation and operations already executed in the civil year by the ordering party, with their financial capacity.
6. Whenever operation evaluation raises doubts, Financial Institutions must request additional elements and refrain from executing them until satisfactory clarification by the ordering party.
   Article 7.
   (Registration of Foreign Exchange Operations in SINOC)
7. Financial Institutions must register foreign exchange operations covered by this Notice in the Integrated Foreign Exchange Operations System (SINOC), regardless of their purpose and the currency of the debited account.
8. Procedures for registering operations in SINOC are defined in a specific Instruction.
   Article 8.
   (Foreign Exchange Coverage and Settlement)
9. Foreign exchange coverage for settling operations subject to this Notice must be processed using the ordering party's own foreign currency funds, or by purchasing foreign exchange from the Financial Institution.
10. The ordering party's national currency account (in case of purchasing foreign exchange) or foreign currency account (in case of using clients' own resources) must be debited, as applicable:
    a) On the date of executing the foreign payment order; b) On the date of settling the credit card balance; c) On the date of loading the prepaid card; d) On the date of delivering foreign currency cash.
    Article 9.
    (Payment Instruments)
    For foreign exchange operations covered by this Notice, the use of bank transfers, international payment cards, non-negotiable named checks, or other analogous international payment instruments is permitted, as well as cash delivery when values are intended to fund travel expenses abroad. Financial Institutions must make available the payment modalities most suitable for the operation's purpose.
    Article 10.
    (Annual Limits)
11. The value of private operations for all purposes, executed in the same civil year by resident individuals over 18 years old, through purchasing foreign currency or using own foreign currency funds, must not exceed the cumulative amount equivalent to USD 120,000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Thousand United States Dollars), when ordered by the same person, regardless of the payment instrument used.
12. Limits assigned to internationally branded cards must respect the provision in the preceding paragraph of this article.
13. The following operations are exempt from the limit defined in paragraph 1:
    a) Payment of health, education, and accommodation expenses when made directly to service providers; b) Transfer of accumulated resources by non-resident foreign citizens during their stay in the country, upon cessation of their permanence;
14. The National Bank of Angola will evaluate justified requests for additional foreign payments and may, exceptionally, authorize operations exceeding the amount established in paragraph 1.

CHAPTER II
Operations Ordered by Resident Individuals
Section I
Current Invisible Transactions
Article 11.
(Submission of Documentation)

1. For the execution of private operations established in paragraph 1 of Article 10, namely for travel expenses and private unilateral transfers including family support, submission of supporting documentation is exempted, except for operations referred to in paragraph 2.
2. In case of purchasing foreign currency for health, education, and accommodation expenses paid directly to respective service providers, the Banking Financial Institution must obtain an invoice or other charging document.
3. To carry out foreign exchange operations subject to this Notice, ordering parties must request the intervening Financial Institution to purchase foreign currency and/or transfer funds, indicating the respective purpose.
   Section II
   Capital Operations
   Article 12.
   (Acquisition of Real Estate or Financial Assets)
4. Licensing requests for acquiring real estate or investing in financial assets abroad, regardless of using own foreign currency resources or purchasing foreign exchange from a Banking Financial Institution, must be submitted by interested parties to Banking Financial Institutions for forwarding to the National Bank of Angola, accompanied by applicable documentation:
   a) Identification of parties involved; b) Terms and conditions of the real estate acquisition or investment; c) Document proving available resources in national or foreign currency for the acquisition/investment; d) Declaration from the Banking Financial Institution confirming that the client has no irregular debts registered in the Credit Risk Information Center (CIRC).
5. Licensing of operations does not imply any responsibility or commitment in providing foreign exchange resources for settlement abroad.
   Article 13.
   (Contracting Financing Abroad)
6. Licensing requests and accompanying documentation for contracting financing with a foreign Financial Institution for any purpose must be submitted by interested parties to national Banking Financial Institutions.
7. For licensing purposes, national Banking Financial Institutions must submit to the National Bank of Angola:
   a) A technical form defined by the National Bank of Angola, containing:
   i. Identification of parties;
   ii. Operation objective and fund application;
   iii. Global value and utilization/refund schedule (date, amounts, currencies);
   iv. Proposed financial terms (interest rates, commissions, and other charges);
   v. Terms and conditions of any guarantees or associated operations;
   vi. Any other elements deemed relevant for operation assessment;
   b) Document proving income or payment means of the buyer, sufficient to ensure debt service; c) Declaration from the Banking Financial Institution confirming that the client has no irregular debts registered in CIRC.
8. Resident individuals may purchase foreign currency from Banking Financial Institutions to make payments related to capital amortization and settlement of interest and associated expenses without prior authorization from the National Bank of Angola, provided they are executed according to the terms and conditions of the credit/loan/financing contract authorized by the National Bank of Angola.
   Article 14.
   (Personal Capital Operations)
   Foreign exchange operations involving receipt of funds from abroad, namely donations, inheritances, and bequests, destined to resident individuals may be freely carried out by Banking Financial Institutions, subject only to registration under Article 7.

CHAPTER III
Operations Ordered by Non-Resident Individuals
Article 15.
(Current Invisible Transactions)

1. Ordering parties who are non-resident individuals under a work visa must have their income domiciled in the Banking Financial Institution.
2. Non-resident foreign citizens are permitted to purchase foreign currency and transfer abroad legally earned revenues, arising from salaries and other remunerations linked to their contracts, when deposited by the resident contracting entity in non-resident accounts, upon presentation of documentation proving contractual ties.
3. In foreign currency purchase operations referred to in the preceding paragraph, Banking Financial Institutions must verify the validity of the work visa, income value through a contract approved by the supervising ministry, compliance with tax obligations, document consistency, and that worker account credits result from direct transfers by the employer.
4. The transfer referred to in paragraph 1 may be executed by debiting the worker's bank account or the employer's account.
5. In case of purchasing foreign currency for transferring income by non-resident foreign workers at the end of their stay, Banking Financial Institutions must evaluate the reasonableness of the requested transfer value considering the proven income level during their stay and transfers already executed, as well as confirm that the client has no irregular bank debts registered in CIRC.
6. Income transfer operations, namely interest on bank deposits and financial assets as well as dividends, are governed by specific regulations.

CHAPTER IV
Final Provisions
Article 16.
(Penalties)
Violations of this Notice are punished under Law No. 5/97 of June 27 – Foreign Exchange Law, and Law No. 12/2015 of June 17 – Basic Law of Financial Institutions.
Article 17.
(Doubts and Omissions)
The National Bank of Angola is responsible for clarifying doubts and omissions arising in the interpretation and application of this Notice.
Article 18.
(Repeal Clause)
Notice No. 10/2019 of November 6, Instruction No. 01/03 of February 7, Instruction No. 06/2018 of June 19, Directive No. 15/DSP/2011, and all other normative provisions contradicting this Notice are repealed.
Article 19.
(Entry into Force)
This Notice enters into force on January 3, 2020.
PUBLISHED.
Luanda, November 26, 2019.
THE GOVERNOR
JOSÉ DE LIMA MASSANO