Notice No. 10/1996, of July 3

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NOTICE NO. 10/96

The Banco Nacional de Angola, in view of the new economic guidelines established by the Government and the need to update the rules for the operation of Currency Exchange Houses, exercising the competence attributed to it by Article 43 of Law No. 4/91, Organic Law of the Banco Nacional de Angola, and by paragraph c) of Article 16 of the same Law,

DETERMINES:

ARTICLE 1.
Currency Exchange Houses shall have as their object the conduct of purchase and sale operations for foreign banknotes and coins, or travel cheques, in accordance with the terms and conditions of Article 11 of this Notice.

ARTICLE 2.
For their authorization, the entities referred to in the preceding article must satisfy the following requirements:
a) have as their exclusive object the conduct of purchase and sale operations for foreign banknotes and coins, or travel cheques; b) adopt the legal form of a public limited company (sociedade anónima) or a private limited company (sociedade por quotas); c) have fully paid-up share capital in cash, and never less than 3,500,000,000 Adjusted Kwanzas (Three Billion and Five Hundred Million Adjusted Kwanzas); d) include the expression "Casa de Câmbios" in their corporate name; e) be persons of good standing, the shareholders with qualified participations in their respective share capital as referred to in Article 5, as well as the directors, managers, or members of the Supervisory Board.

ARTICLE 3.
Authorization applications must be submitted to the Banco Nacional de Angola accompanied by the following documents:
a) indication of the Head Office and location or locations where counters are planned to be opened; b) company contract or respective statutory project; c) personal and professional identification of shareholders, specifying their respective shareholdings in the capital, as well as directors, managers, and members of the Supervisory Board; d) sworn declaration by each shareholder with a qualified participation in the respective share capital, stating that neither they nor companies or enterprises over which they have secured control or in which they have served as directors, managers, or officers have been declared insolvent or bankrupt.

ARTICLE 4.
The Banco Nacional de Angola may request from interested parties other information it considers adequate for the processing of the application.

ARTICLE 5.
A qualified participation is considered to be one whose nominal value represents, directly or indirectly, at least 10% of the respective share capital or voting rights.

ARTICLE 6.
The acquisition of shares resulting in the acquirer holding a qualified participation in the capital of a Currency Exchange House requires prior authorization from the Banco Nacional de Angola.

ARTICLE 7.
The authorization to conduct currency exchange business shall lapse if the applicants renounce it, as well as if the Currency Exchange House fails to commence operations within one year from the date of grant; in this latter case, the file must be updated and a new application submitted to the Banco Nacional de Angola.

1 - Violations of the mandatory norms of this instrument, those complementing them, and the determinations or instructions of the Banco Nacional de Angola shall be punished with:
a) warning; b) monetary fine of an amount to be determined by the Banco Nacional de Angola, which may not exceed 20% (twenty percent) of the minimum capital for the establishment of a Currency Exchange House; c) temporary prohibition on conducting currency exchange business; d) revocation of the license to conduct currency exchange business.

2 - The sanctions provided for in point 1 of this article shall be applied whenever the following occur:
a) absence of any of the requirements required for granting authorization; b) cessation or significant reduction in activity for a period exceeding six months; c) existence of infractions in management and internal accounting organization of the entity; d) non-compliance with norms and instructions transmitted by the Banco Nacional de Angola; e) lack of guarantee for regular fulfillment of obligations to creditors.

3 - The sanctions provided for in point 1 of Article 5 may be applied cumulatively.

ARTICLE 9.
The sanctions provided for in point 1 of the preceding article shall be applied by the Banco Nacional de Angola through duly documented administrative procedures, with notice given to the infringers, subject to contentious appeal for those provided for in paragraphs c) and d).

ARTICLE 10.
Currency Exchange Houses are subject to registration with the Banco Nacional de Angola, which must be completed at least one month before the commencement of their activity.

ARTICLE 11.
In addition to others that may subsequently be indicated by the Banco Nacional de Angola, Currency Exchange Houses may conduct purchase and sale operations for foreign banknotes and coins or travel cheques under the conditions set out in the following paragraphs. 1 - In operations with residents, they may:
a) sell against Adjusted Kwanzas travel cheques intended for the payment of expenses related to foreign travel, duly proven by boarding proof (ticket with reservation confirmation and entry visa), up to an amount equivalent to USD 5,000 (five thousand US dollars); b) buy against Adjusted Kwanzas foreign banknotes and coins or travel cheques. 2 - In operations with non-residents, they may:
a) buy against Adjusted Kwanzas foreign banknotes and coins or travel cheques; b) sell travel cheques against Adjusted Kwanzas, related to foreign travel duly proven (ticket with reservation confirmation and passport entry visa), up to an amount equivalent to USD 5,000 (five thousand US dollars).

Currency Exchange Houses shall apply, in their operations, the exchange rates established by the Banco Nacional de Angola.
It is incumbent upon Currency Exchange Houses to record on the respective ticket, with an official stamp, the date and value of the operation in its US dollar equivalent.

ARTICLE 12.
For the regular exercise of their activity, Currency Exchange Houses shall:
a) open deposit accounts in national currency with resident credit institutions, which will be debited and credited exclusively by banknotes and cheques in Adjusted Kwanzas, corresponding to the purchases and sales of foreign currency negotiated with clients; b) open deposit accounts, expressed in foreign currency, with resident credit institutions for purposes they deem appropriate and, in particular, for the exchange opening of travel cheques sold to clients; c) use mandatory documentation (receipt, voucher, or similar document) for formalizing foreign currency purchase and sale operations, which must contain at minimum fields for the following indicators: name of the Currency Exchange House, date and operation number, nature of the operation (purchase or sale), name and identification of the client (ID card number or tax registration number with the Ministry of Finance), foreign currency transacted (USD, FRF, etc.), whether banknotes or coins, quantity traded, exchange rate applied, sub-total in national currency, commissions charged on the operation, total of the operation in national currency, method of settlement (by cheque or cash), signature of the client and the Currency Exchange House employee, with one copy of the document destined for the client. In addition to the mandatory documentation for formalizing operations under paragraph c), photocopies of boarding proof (ticket with passport confirmation and entry visa) must be retained.

ARTICLE 13.
Currency Exchange Houses focused on manual currency exchange business shall operate with their respective share capital and profits resulting from foreign currency purchases and sales, and may not resort to loans or financing from banks or third parties (individuals or legal entities) to replenish or increase their treasury funds, nor accept client advances.

ARTICLE 14.
The Banco Nacional de Angola shall issue technical instructions deemed appropriate for the execution of this Notice.

ARTICLE 15.
The Banco Nacional de Angola may define, for each Currency Exchange House, the limits of their respective exchange positions and the destination to be given to amounts exceeding them.

ARTICLE 16.
In addition to other obligations imposed by law, Currency Exchange Houses must comply with the instructions of the Banco Nacional de Angola regarding the Chart of Accounts, Balance Sheet Organization and other documents, as well as the valuation of asset elements.

ARTICLE 17.
Currency Exchange Houses must submit to the Banco Nacional de Angola, in accordance with the technical norms and instructions transmitted by it and within fixed deadlines, the accounting, statistical information, or other elements requested.

ARTICLE 18.
1 - The opening of new counters by Currency Exchange Houses already in operation and in localities where they do not have counters requires special prior authorization from the Banco Nacional de Angola, whereby interested parties must submit a written application to that entity. 2 - The opening of branches in localities where the Currency Exchange House already has a counter or counters does not require the special authorization provided for in point 1 of this article, and must therefore simply notify the Banco Nacional de Angola through its Supervision Directorate.

ARTICLE 19.
This Notice enters into force immediately, with Notice No. 8/95 of August 8 being repealed.

PUBLISHED:
Luanda, June 28, 1996
THE GOVERNOR
SEBASTIÃO BASTOS LAVRADOR