Central Bank of Libya Circular No. 3/2017 on the Sale of Foreign Currency for Personal Purposes to Libyan Heads of Households

Central Bank of Libya
P.O. Box 1103, Telegraph Addresses - Central Bank of Libya - Tripoli - Libya

Reference: 804 / BCSD
Circular No. (3/2017)
Date: 5 Jumada al-Thani 1438 AH
Corresponding to: 1 February 2017 AD

To: General Managers of Banks
To: Chairmen of Interim Administrative Committees of Banks
To: General Manager - Libyan Foreign Bank
To: General Manager - Ma'amalat Financial Services Company

With greetings...
Subject: Regulations Governing the Sale of Foreign Currency for Personal Purposes for 2017 to be Disbursed to Libyan Heads of Households

Based on the provisions of Law No. (1) of 2005 concerning Banks and its amendments, and the supervisory and regulatory role exercised by the Central Bank of Libya over banks in accordance with the law.
And referring to this department's Circular No. (1/2015) issued on 11/1/2015, clarifying banks' inquiries regarding Circular No. (5) of 2014 on regulating banking card transactions.
And to Circular No. (BCSD) (2009/13) issued on 01/10/2009, regarding regulations for opening bank accounts in commercial banks.
And to Circular Letter No. (BCSD) (2015/128) issued on 29/11/2015, regarding regulations governing the activity of personal remittances.
And to Circular No. (BCSD) (2015/5) issued on 01/09/2015, regarding regulations governing electronic banking card transactions.
And to Circular No. (BCSD) (2016/1) issued on 07/01/2016, regarding implementing the Governor's decision No. (5) of 2016 amending Decision No. (245) of 2014 on foreign currency transactions and setting the annual limit for electronic banking cards.
And to Circular No. (BCSD) (2016/5) issued on 12/4/2016, regarding monitoring and developing regulations for personal remittances and electronic banking cards, and following up foreign currency transactions.
And to Circular No. (BCSD) (2016/12) issued on 27/10/2016, which forwarded the Governor's Circular No. (2) of 2016 regarding implementing Board of Directors Decision No. (36) of 2009 on rules for opening bank accounts in commercial banks, attached with a Know Your Customer (KYC) form for regular entities and individuals.

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Central Bank of Libya
P.O. Box 1103, Telegraph Addresses - Central Bank of Libya - Tripoli - Libya

In pursuit of achieving fairness in obtaining foreign currency.
Therefore, it is decided as follows:

First: Mechanisms and Procedures for Obtaining the Foreign Currency Allocation:

1. The bank branch where the head of household maintains a local currency current account shall open a dedicated sub-account in US dollars for this process upon request, subject to the following:
   a. Using the National ID to verify that no US dollar account has been opened for the same head of household at another branch for the same purpose, which is done through the system prepared for this purpose.
   b. A fee for opening this account shall be calculated at no more than ten dinars.
   c. The US dollar account opened for this purpose is exempt from any other administrative fees.
   d. Banks, upon opening the sub-account, must update customer data in the banking system according to Governor's Circular No. (2/2016) and its attached Know Your Customer (KYC) form.

2. The head of household submits a foreign currency purchase request (according to the attached form) valued at 400 US dollars for each family member registered in the Civil Affairs System holding National IDs, and the number of family members is counted at the time of submitting the first purchase request.

3. Bank branches forward the requests to their administration via the Personal Foreign Currency Monitoring System.

4. The value of the foreign currency is deducted from the head of household's local currency current account, and the dollar value is added to the sub-account opened for this purpose, according to the official rate on the purchase date, plus an amount of (6) dinars per family member as service fees, which are deducted from the local currency current account.

5. Coverage requests from commercial banks are automatically forwarded to the Central Bank of Libya via the Foreign Currency Coverage Requests Reception System.

Second: Methods of Using Foreign Currency:

The US dollar accounts opened under this circular are used as follows:
a. Making personal foreign currency remittances via Western Union or MoneyGram.
b. Issuing or loading Visa (Visa) or MasterCard (MasterCard) cards for the account holder or one of his family members - within the available balance in the account.
c. Withdrawing them in cash (the Central Bank of Libya is working to lift the ban imposed since December 2013 on foreign currency supply).

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Central Bank of Libya
P.O. Box 1103, Telegraph Addresses - Central Bank of Libya - Tripoli - Libya

Third: General Provisions:

1. The sale of foreign currency under this circular continues until 31/12/2017, and the account holder has the right to retain the purchased amount and utilize it in subsequent years.
2. Banks may not dispose of funds deposited in these accounts except as specified by the Central Bank of Libya in this circular.
3. A regulations committee is formed at each bank level to review appeals submitted regarding matters presented.
4. For any family to obtain its members' foreign currency allocations under this circular, a supreme regulations committee is formed comprising the Central Bank of Libya, the Civil Affairs Authority, and the National ID Project, responsible for investigating regulations forwarded to it through bank regulations committees.
5. A committee is formed chaired by the Central Bank of Libya and comprising general managers of banks, to monitor work procedures and mechanisms and address all violations; the Central Bank of Libya determines the schedules and venues for its meetings, and the committee takes necessary actions to correct any deviations that may appear after auditing and review.
6. The Central Bank of Libya is responsible for issuing a periodic bulletin indicating the total number of families that received foreign currency disbursements and the total amount disbursed.
7. The concerned departments and all banks shall begin implementing the provisions of this circular from its issuance date.

Peace, mercy of God and blessings be upon you...
Dr. Mokhtar El-Hadi Al-Tawil
Director of the Banking and Currency Supervision Department

To: The Governor
To: The Auditor General's Office Representative
To: The Administrative Control Authority Representative
To: The Ministry of Finance Representative
To: The Ministry of Economy Representative
To: Director of Banking Information Department - Central Bank of Libya
To: Director of Information and Settlements Department - Central Bank of Libya
To: Chairman of the Committee for Regulating Citizens' Accounts Abroad - Central Bank of Libya
To: Director of Legal Affairs Department - Central Bank of Libya
To: Director of Accounts Department - Central Bank of Libya
To: Director of Core Banking Unit - Central Bank of Libya
To: Director of Electronic Information Infrastructure - Central Bank of Libya
To: Branch Managers of the Central Bank of Libya (Benghazi - Benghazi - Misrata)
To: Heads of Compliance Units in Banks - (Follow-up)
To: Deputy Director of Banking and Currency Supervision for Office Supervision and Compliance Follow-up
Department: Banking Organization and Compliance Accompaniment
Document Number / 2017/3

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