Central Bank of Tunisia Circular No. 2018-07 on Manual Foreign Exchange Activity by Natural Persons

Tunis, July 30, 2018
CIRCULAR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF TUNISIA No. 2018-07 Subject: Exercise of manual foreign exchange activity by natural persons through the opening of exchange offices.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia;
Having regard to Organic Law No. 2015-26 of August 7, 2015 on the fight against terrorism and the repression of money laundering; Having regard to the Foreign Exchange and External Trade Code promulgated by Law No. 76-18 of January 12, 1976, consolidating and codifying foreign exchange and external trade legislation governing relations between Tunisia and foreign countries, as amended by subsequent texts, notably the decree-law No. 2011-98 of October 24, 2011; Having regard to Law No. 2014-54 of August 19, 2014 on the supplementary finance law for the year 2014 and notably its Article 54; Having regard to Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016 fixing the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia; Having regard to Decree No. 77-608 of July 27, 1977 setting the application conditions for Law No. 76-18 cited above, as amended by subsequent texts and notably Decree No. 2017-393 of March 28, 2017; Having regard to Decree No. 2001-1142 of May 22, 2001 fixing the travel expense regime applicable to State personnel, local authorities, administrative public establishments, public establishments and companies, and the procedures for covering related expenses as well as granting benefits, as amended by Decree No. 2005-1733 of June 13, 2005; Having regard to Government Decree No. 2017-1366 of December 25, 2017 fixing the minimum amount of the bank guarantee required for exercising manual foreign exchange activity through the creation of an exchange office and the eligibility conditions, as amended by Government Decree No. 2018-593 of July 17, 2018; Having regard to the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 94-13 of September 7, 1994 on the import, transfer, reconversion and re-export of foreign currency by travelers, as amended by Circular No. 2017-10 of November 30, 2017; Having regard to the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 2007-04 of February 9, 2007 on tourist allowances; Having regard to the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 2016-10 of December 30, 2016 on the authorization to export foreign currency in banknotes and by checks; Having regard to Opinion No. 1522-50 of the Compliance Control Committee dated July 27, 2018 as provided for by Article 42 of Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016 on the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia.

Decides:
Article 1: Any Tunisian resident natural person intending to exercise manual foreign exchange activity by opening an exchange office must first obtain authorization from the Central Bank of Tunisia, upon submission at its headquarters, against receipt, of a written application prepared in accordance with the model set out in Annex No. 1 to this circular, accompanied by the following documents:

• a copy of the national identity card;
• a certified true copy of a certificate of training in manual foreign exchange issued to the applicant by the Academy of Banks and Finance under the Tunisian Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions;
• an original first-demand bank guarantee issued according to the model provided in Annex No. 2 to this circular in favor of the Central Bank of Tunisia for an amount of fifty thousand dinars (50,000 TND);
• a third bulletin (criminal record) dated less than three months from the date of submission of the authorization application;
• a certificate of non-bankruptcy dated less than three months from the date of submission of the authorization application;
• a lease contract or property title for the premises intended for exercising manual foreign exchange activity.

Article 2: The Central Bank of Tunisia notifies the applicant of its decision within a maximum period of two months from the date of receipt of the authorization application accompanied by all documents specified in Article 1 of this circular.
The authorization to open an exchange office assigns the applicant an identification code.
The natural person who has obtained authorization must, within a period not exceeding three months from the date of authorization, proceed to effectively exercise their activity and transmit to the Central Bank of Tunisia, by any means leaving a written record, within a maximum period of 3 working days from the date of commencement of activity, a declaration prepared according to the model set out in Annex No. 3 to this circular.

Article 3: The authorization to exercise manual foreign exchange activity by opening an exchange office is personal and non-transferable. A single natural person may benefit from no more than one authorization. This authorizes its holder to exercise manual foreign exchange activity exclusively in the exchange office indicated therein. It does not, under any circumstances, permit the exercise of said activity by more than one exchange office.
The transfer of the activity from one premises to another is, however, possible subject to obtaining prior authorization from the Central Bank of Tunisia.

Article 4: The exchange office must serve exclusively for the exercise of manual foreign exchange activity regarding the operations provided for in Article 5 of this circular.

Article 5: The authorization granted under this circular empowers its holder to exercise, through the exchange office, exclusively the purchase and sale of convertible foreign currency against dinars regarding the following operations:

1. Manual purchase of convertible foreign currency against dinars:
   • conversion of foreign currency into dinar by travelers, provided for by the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 94-13 of September 7, 1994 cited above;
   • retrocession by resident travelers regarding unused tourist allowances, provided for by the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 2007-04 cited above;
   • retrocession by resident travelers regarding travel and internship expenses, provided for by the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 91-02 cited above.
2. Manual sale of convertible foreign currency against dinars:
   • reconversion, in favor of non-resident travelers, of the remaining dinars they hold following a sale of foreign currency, provided for by the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 94-13 cited above;
   • sale of foreign currency against dinars regarding tourist allowances provided for by the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 2007-04 of February 9, 2007;
   • sale of foreign currency against dinars regarding travel and internship expenses abroad, in favor of State personnel, local authorities, administrative public establishments, public establishments and companies provided for by Decree No. 2001-1142 cited above and the Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 91-02 of January 29, 1991;
   • sale of foreign currency against dinars regarding cash transfers authorized individually by the Central Bank of Tunisia. To this effect, the exchange office must be provided with an original signed authorization for cash transfer.

Article 6: The purchase and sale operations of foreign currency referred to in Article 5 of this circular must be carried out in accordance with the conditions, procedures and methods fixed by the regulatory texts indicated by said Article.
Any foreign currency purchase operation must result in the issuance of an exchange slip, prepared according to the model provided by Annex No. 4 to this circular.
Any foreign currency sale operation must result in the issuance of an authorization for foreign currency export, under the conditions provided by Circular No. 2016-10 of December 30, 2016 on the authorization for exporting foreign currency in banknotes and by checks. When required, under the order of the Minister of Finance dated March 1, 2016 fixing the amounts provided for by Law No. 2015-26 cited above, that a customs-certified foreign currency import declaration be presented for the realization of a foreign currency purchase, the natural person authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange by opening an exchange office must effect the purchase upon presentation of a copy of said declaration accompanied by the original. After affixing their stamp and visa and indicating the amount purchased in foreign currency and the date of the operation on both documents, said person returns the original to its holder.

Article 7: The natural person authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange activity through an exchange office must:

• indicate their name and the identification code of their office and affix their signature and stamp, in the space reserved for the approved intermediary, on all documents provided by the circulars cited in Articles 5 and 6 above;
• prominently display to the public the authorization to exercise manual foreign exchange activity and the dinar rates applied to purchase and sale operations of convertible foreign currency;
• keep in accessible files for control purposes for a minimum period of 10 years, a copy of all documents required to carry out manual foreign exchange operations;
• take necessary measures to ensure the recording and traceability of all operations they process and comply with the vigilance and customer identification obligations provided by current regulations.

Article 8: The natural person authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange activity by opening an exchange office may keep in the cash registers of the exchange office only a holding of foreign banknotes within the limit of their activity's needs.
This holding may in no case exceed the equivalent of two hundred thousand dinars (200,000 TND) all currencies combined.
Any amount exceeding the ceiling indicated in the first paragraph of this Article must be deposited, no later than the first working day following the date of its recording, into the "exchange office account" referred to in the next Article.

Article 9: Approved Intermediaries are authorized to open, in the names of natural persons authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange activity by opening exchange offices, "exchange office accounts" in convertible foreign currency.
The natural person authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange activity through an exchange office may only open one "exchange office account" per currency and may only open "exchange office accounts" with a single Approved Intermediary. To open an "exchange office account", the Approved Intermediary must require a sworn declaration by which the concerned natural person declares that they do not hold any "exchange office account" opened with another Approved Intermediary.

Article 10: The "exchange office account" is freely credited by the deposit of foreign banknotes purchased by the exchange office as well as by the interest generated by funds placed in these accounts, calculated under conditions provided by current regulations.
The account is freely debited by the withdrawal of foreign banknotes for the exclusive needs of the exchange office's activity, by the transfer/sale of foreign currency to an Approved Intermediary as well as by investment operations carried out in accordance with current regulations. When an "exchange office account" records a credit balance exceeding the equivalent of five hundred thousand dinars (500,000 TND), taking into account the amount of ongoing investments, the account holder must proceed, no later within a period of two working days in banks, to transfer/sell against dinars the amount exceeding this ceiling. Any other operation credited or debited to the "exchange office account" is subject to authorization from the Central Bank of Tunisia and the account may in no case be rendered debited.

Article 11: The natural person authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange activity by opening an Exchange Office must transmit to the Central Bank of Tunisia via the Data Exchange System (SED), no later than the 10th of the following month, the purchase and sale operations of foreign currency carried out by their office during the month.
Approved Intermediaries are required to send monthly to the Central Bank of Tunisia via the SED no later than the 10th of the following month, the statements of exchange office accounts opened on their books during the month. These declarations must be made to the Central Bank of Tunisia in accordance with the technical guide made available to them, freely downloadable via the SED.

Article 12: The natural person authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange activity through an exchange office who plans to cease their activity must inform the Central Bank of Tunisia, prior to cessation, according to the model in Annex No. 0, by any means leaving a written record.
The cessation of activity must immediately result in the closure by the authorization holder of "exchange office accounts" in foreign currency and the transfer/sale against dinars of their credit balances.

Article 13: The authorization to exercise manual foreign exchange activity through an exchange office is withdrawn by the Central Bank of Tunisia in the following cases:

1. Non-compliance with the conditions for exercising manual foreign exchange operations provided by this circular and current foreign exchange regulations;
2. Failure to meet one of the conditions for exercising the activity under which the authorization was granted;
3. The natural person authorized to exercise manual foreign exchange through an exchange office does not effectively exercise their activity within the period fixed in Article 2 of this circular.

THE GOVERNOR
Marouane EL ABASSI

Annex No. 1 to the Circular of the Central Bank of Tunisia No. 2018-07 dated 30/07/2018
Model of the authorization application for opening an exchange office Site of implantation: …………………… Governorate: ………………… Delegation: ………………… Coordinates:
Full Address: ……………………
Postal Code: ……………………
Telephone: ………………… Fax: ………………… e-mail: …………………… Website (if applicable): …………………… Identity of the applicant and collaborating agents:
LABEL NAME FIRST NAME N° ID CARD FULL ADDRESS
APPLICANT:
Date: ……………, the …………………
Legalized signature of the applicant

Annex No. 2 to the Circular of the Central Bank of Tunisia No. 2018-07 dated 30/07/2018
Model of the first-demand guarantee
We, the undersigned delegated managers and representatives…….. (name of the bank whose registered office is at…………), authorized to sign and undertake commitments on its behalf, declare by the present that said bank acts as guarantor up to an amount of fifty thousand dinars (50,000 TND) vis-à-vis the Central Bank of Tunisia whose registered office is at 25, Hedi Nouira Street - 1080 - Tunis, and this, in place of …………… (Name, first name and national identity card number of the natural person requesting authorization from the Central Bank of Tunisia to exercise manual foreign exchange activity by opening an Exchange Office in accordance with Article 54 of Law No. 2014-54 of August 19, 2014 on the supplementary finance law for the year 2014 and Government Decree No. 2017-1366 of December 25, 2017 fixing the minimum amount of the bank guarantee required for exercising manual foreign exchange activity through the creation of an exchange office and the eligibility conditions, as amended by Government Decree No. 2018-593 of July 17, 2018). We undertake to pay upon first demand from the Central Bank of Tunisia and according to the manner indicated by it, all sums requested up to the amount indicated above, without being able to defer payment for any reason whatsoever or raise factual or legal disputes and without the need for a formal notice or any judicial or administrative procedure and without it being necessary to prove a breach or fault by the principal. The payment request made by the Central Bank of Tunisia must be addressed to the bank in writing and signed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia. The amount of the first-demand guarantee is uninterrupted and renewable each time it is used totally or partially. This renewal can only take place after explicit agreement of the concerned banking establishment. This first-demand guarantee takes effect from the date of its issuance and will remain valid until receipt by the issuing bank of a release certificate signed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia. Stamp and authorized signature

Annex No. 3 to the Circular of the Central Bank of Tunisia No. 2018-07 dated 30/07/2018
Model of the declaration for effective commencement of activity of an exchange office Name and first name of the beneficiary of BCT authorization: ………………… ..……………………………………………………………………………….. National Identity Card (ID) No.: …………………… Identification code of the exchange office: ..…………………. Commercial Register No.: …………………… Tax ID (Matricule fiscal): …………………… Date of effective opening: .…………………. Site of implantation: …………………… Governorate: ………………… Delegation: ………………… Date: ………… the, ………………… Stamp and legalized signature

Annex No. 4 to the Circular of the Central Bank of Tunisia No. 2018-07 dated 30/07/2018

• Name and first name of the authorized natural person (Exchange Office):
• Identification Code:
  EXCHANGE SLIP (¹)
  (PURCHASE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY IN CASH)
  No. ……………………
  Date ……………………
  Time …………………
  M ……………………
  Passport No. or ID No. Issued at ………………… on, ………………… or Residence Permit No.
  Nationality …………………
  Address …………………
  Client Identification | Nature of Currency | Amount in Currency | Purchase Rate | Counter-value in Dinar | Nature of Foreign Currency Purchase Operation (In Cash) (²) Purchase of foreign currency from a non-resident traveler | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… Purchase of foreign currency from a resident traveler | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… Purchase of foreign currency as retrocession of tourist allowance | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… Purchase of foreign currency as retrocession of travel or internship expenses | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… | ………………… Banknotes Total " " " " Stamp and authorized signature of the Exchange Office Client's Signature --------------------------------- (¹) Important notice (²) Check the box corresponding to the nature of the foreign currency purchase operation.

• Non-resident travelers are advised to keep this exchange slip for presentation when necessary to prove the origin of the currency.
• Non-resident travelers may reconvert the remaining unused Tunisian dinar amount in Tunisia upon presentation of:
  1. The exchange slip if the remaining amount is less than five thousand (5,000) Tunisian dinars.
  2. The exchange slip and a foreign currency import declaration stamped by the Tunisian Customs if the amount to be reconverted is equal to or exceeds five thousand (5,000) Tunisian dinars.
• Travelers are advised to keep this exchange note and present it if necessary to establish the origin of the foreign currency.
• The reconversion of the remainder amount in Tunisian dinar unspent can be made upon presentation of:
  1. The exchange receipt if the amount is less than 5,000 Tunisian dinars.
  2. The exchange receipt and the foreign currency import declaration stamped by Tunisian Customs if the amount to be reconverted is equal to or more than 5,000 Tunisian dinars.

Annex No. 5 to the Circular of the Central Bank of Tunisia No. 2018-07 dated 30/07/2018
Model of the declaration for closing an Exchange Office Name and first name of the BCT authorization holder: ………………… National Identity Card (ID) No.: …………………… Date of opening: …………………… Identification Code: …………………… Commercial Register No.: …………………… Tax ID (Matricule fiscal): …………………… Site of implantation: ………………… Governorate: ………………… Delegation: ………………… Reasons for closure ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… Stamp and legalized signature