2019-10-24
The National Bank of Angola, through Governor José de Lima Massano, issued Instruction No. 18/2019 to adjust foreign exchange limits and conditions for goods import payments, establishing specific caps of USD 50,000 for advance payments and USD 200,000 for documentary remittances while maintaining unlimited use for documentary collections and credits. The directive mandates Banking Financial Institutions to strictly enforce anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements, verify import documentation within stipulated timelines (30 to 180 days), and report suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit. It supersedes Instruction No. 9/18, imposes penalties for non-compliance with documentation deadlines, and takes effect upon publication.
INSTRUCTION NO. 18/2019 of October 25 SUBJECT: FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICY − Limits for Foreign Exchange Operations on Goods Imports Whereas it is necessary to adjust the limits and conditions for the use of various payment instruments in the importation of goods, as defined under Notice No. 05/2018 of July 17 on Rules and Procedures Applicable to Foreign Exchange Operations for the Import and Export of Goods; In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by the combined provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 28 of Law No. 5/97 of July 27 – Foreign Exchange Law, and Article 40 of Law No. 16/10 of July 15 – Law of the National Bank of Angola, I DETERMINE:
CONTINUED INSTRUCTION NO. 18/2019 Page 2 of 4 by a foreign bank recognized by the Banking Financial Institution of the importer. b) Documentary Remittances – up to USD 200,000.00 (two hundred thousand United States dollars) per operation, with no maximum annual limits. c) Documentary Collections and Import Documentary Credits – unlimited use, provided they are opened in accordance with UCP 600 rules. Advance payments of up to 10% (ten percent) of the total operation amount are permitted, as set forth in paragraph c) of Article 7.1 of Notice No. 5/18 of July 17. The limits expressed in United States dollars in this Instruction apply to equivalent values in any other foreign currency. 3. Other Conditions 3.1. Before carrying out any foreign exchange operation for the payment of imports, regardless of whether it is made through the purchase of foreign currency or the use of the importer's own funds in that currency, and regardless of whether they are subject to or not to the limits established in this Instruction, Banking Financial Institutions must ensure strict compliance with the requirements set forth in Notice No. 5/18, including: a) Provisions regarding the prevention of money laundering and counter-terrorism financing; b) The submission and verification of all import documentation; c) In the case of advance payments or down payments, even with use of own funds, the submission to the Banking Financial Institution of proof of the goods' entry into the country within 30 (thirty) days from the date of customs clearance, which may not exceed 180 (one hundred and eighty) days from the date of settlement of the foreign exchange operation. d) That the ordering parties are not barred from carrying out foreign exchange operations due to non-compliance with the deadlines for submitting documentation proving the entry of goods into the country. 3.2. When using documentary credits, Banking Financial Institutions must ensure compliance with the deadline for submitting transport documents as defined in the rules for document examination, Article 14 of UCP 600, namely within 21 (twenty-one) days from the date of shipment and within the validity period of the documentary credit.
CONTINUED INSTRUCTION NO. 18/2019 Page 3 of 4 3.3. The establishment of limits for payments does not imply any liability or commitment by the National Bank of Angola to sell foreign currency for settlement abroad, except in cases where it establishes specific ceilings (plafonds) for this purpose. 3.4. Whenever, in carrying out an operation, Banking Financial Institutions know, suspect, or have sufficient grounds to suspect that an operation has taken place, is ongoing, or has been attempted that may be associated with money laundering crime, terrorism financing, or underlying offences, they must report it to the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF); in cases where an operation shows well-founded suspicion and may constitute a crime, they must refrain from executing any operations related to the customer's request and await the decision of the UIF, in accordance with current legislation and regulations. 3.5. In case of non-compliance with the deadlines set forth in Notice No. 5/18 and this Instruction for submitting proof of the goods' entry into the country, and if no justified reasons exist or the situation is not regularized within 15 (fifteen) business days from the end of the deadline for document submission and after timely notification of the irregularity to the importer, Banking Financial Institutions must, in addition to the procedures defined in Article 12 of said Notice, notify the competent criminal investigation entities whenever they have evidence of practices that may be classified as financial crime. 4. Doubts and Omissions Doubts and omissions arising from the interpretation of this Instruction are clarified by the National Bank of Angola. 5. Sanctions