Regulatory Alerts1999-12-13
Decree No. 99-2773 of December 13, 1999, on the Conditions for Opening Stock Savings Accounts
Issued by the President of Tunisia on December 13, 1999, and amended through 2022, this Decree establishes the regulatory framework for Stock Savings Accounts (CEA) by mandating that natural persons allocate at least 60% of deposited funds to listed equity securities or UCITS, with unallocated balances capped at 100 dinars or 2% of assets. It requires banks and stock exchange intermediaries to formalize account management via approved agreements, enforce strict 90-day utilization deadlines for deposited funds, and issue quarterly statements while withholding withdrawals during the statutory tax-blocking period unless tax compliance is certified. Furthermore, it grants account holders unrestricted access to generated income (dividends, interest, capital gains) during the lock-up period and permits seamless account transfers between financial institutions without loss of accrued rights.
Decree No. 99-2773 of December 13, 1999, on the Conditions for Opening Stock Savings Accounts 1 Decree No. 99-2773 of December 13, 1999, on the conditions for opening "Stock Savings Accounts" (Comptes Epargne en Actions), their management, and the use of funds and securities deposited therein, as amended by Decrees No. 2002-1727 of July 29, 2002 and No. 2005-1977 of July 11, 2005, and Presidential Decree No. 2022-531 of June 3, 2022 The President of the Republic, On the proposal of the Minister of Finance, Having regard to the Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax Code promulgated by Law No. 89-114 of December 30, 1989, and in particular Article 39 thereof, as amended by Article 4 of Law No. 99-92 of August 17, 1999, on the revitalization of the financial market, Having regard to Law No. 94-117 of November 14, 1994, on the reorganization of the financial market, Having regard to the opinion of the Administrative Court, Decrees:
Article 1. The "Stock Savings Accounts" provided for in Article 39 of the Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax Code shall be open to natural persons with banks and stock exchange intermediaries.
Article 2. (Decree No. 2002-1727 of July 29, 2002, Art. 1) Funds deposited in "Stock Savings Accounts" shall be allocated:
- up to a minimum of 60% towards the acquisition of equity securities of companies listed on the Stock Exchange, and the balance towards the acquisition of assimilable Treasury bills. This obligation shall be deemed fulfilled if the unallocated amount under these conditions does not exceed 100 dinars. (Presidential Decree No. 2022-531 of June 3, 2022)
- or towards the acquisition of shares or units in collective investment undertakings for securities (UCITS) that utilize their assets under the aforementioned conditions. This obligation shall be deemed fulfilled if the unallocated amount under the above conditions does not exceed 2% of assets. Securities acquired under these terms may be sold provided that the portion of the sales proceeds corresponding to funds used to determine the deduction under Article 39 of the Corporate Tax Code is redeposited into the same account. This portion of sales proceeds shall be subject to the same allocation conditions set out in the first paragraph of this Article. However, collective investment undertakings for securities may use at least 80% of their assets to acquire equity securities of companies listed on the Stock Exchange, with the balance allocated to assimilable Treasury bills. This obligation shall be deemed fulfilled if the unallocated amount under the aforementioned conditions does not exceed 2% of assets. The statutes or internal regulations of these undertakings must stipulate the obligation to use subscription funds within a period not exceeding 30 stock exchange days from the stock exchange day following the subscription date. (Decree No. 2002-1727 of July 29, 2002, Art. 2)
Article 3. Any amount paid into a Stock Savings Account must be utilized within a period not exceeding 90 stock exchange days from the stock exchange day following its deposit date. However, unallocated amounts, upon expiry of the 30-stock exchange day period from their deposit date, must be temporarily invested in shares or units of collective investment undertakings for securities during the remaining period (Decree No. 2005-1977 of July 11, 2005, Art. 1). The same timeframes apply to funds referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 2 of this Decree, from the stock exchange day following the settlement date.
Article 4. Funds deposited in a Stock Savings Account do not accrue interest.
Article 5. "Stock Savings Accounts" are opened pursuant to an agreement concluded between the bank or stock exchange intermediary and the client, specifying in particular the nature and limits of powers delegated by the latter to manage their account, as well as remuneration conditions. The agreement must include the following statements:
- the name of the account holder, their address, and national identity card number;
- the date and place of account opening, and optionally, the branch where the account is held.
- the nature and limits of operations delegated by the client and the account management guidelines,
- the methods and periodicity for paying account management commissions,
- the content and periodicity of information to be communicated to the account holder. The agreement must explicitly reference Law No. 99-92 of August 17, 1999, on the revitalization of the financial market, and this Decree.
Article 6. Every Stock Savings Account must result in the dispatch, at least once per quarter, to the account holder of a statement showing the account status and results recorded during the relevant period. Objections regarding information contained in said statement are subject to the rules set forth in Article 674 of the Commercial Code, governing deposit accounts.
Article 7. Notwithstanding the nature of powers delegated by the client under the agreement referred to in Article 5 above, the bank or stock exchange intermediary is authorized, during the last five days of the timeframes stipulated in Article 3 of this Decree, to carry out securities acquisition transactions on behalf of its client.
Article 8. The bank or stock exchange intermediary must submit to the approval of the Financial Market Council a model agreement it intends to adopt with its clients. "Stock Savings Accounts" may only be opened following the approval of said model agreement by the Financial Market Council.
Article 9. No amount may be deposited into a Stock Savings Account prior to the signing of the agreement provided for in this Decree. The bank or stock exchange intermediary issues, to the account holder, a certificate for each amount deposited by them into their account.
Article 10. The bank or stock exchange intermediary where the account is held may not allow the account holder, during the entire blocking period stipulated in paragraph 2 of subsection VIII of Article 39 of the Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax Code, to withdraw partially or fully the funds used to determine the deduction or the securities deposited in the account, except upon presentation of a certificate issued by tax control services confirming payment of the due tax and related penalties.
Article 11. The account holder may, during the blocking period stipulated in paragraph 2 of subsection VIII of Article 39 of the Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax Code, freely dispose of income generated by the account in the form of dividends, interest from assimilable Treasury bills, rights attached to shares, capital gains realized upon sales, as well as any other income that can be derived from the account.
Article 12. The holder of a Stock Savings Account may transfer their account from one bank or stock exchange intermediary to another while retaining all rights associated with said account. In such cases, the institution where the account is held must transfer the funds and securities deposited therein directly to the new institution and provide it with all relevant information and details.