Central Bank of Tunisia Circular to Authorized Intermediaries No. 2017-10 dated November 30, 2017

Tunis, November 30, 2017
CIRCULAR TO AUTHORIZED INTERMEDIARIES NO. 2017-10 OBJECT: Import, transfer, conversion and physical re-export of foreign currency by non-resident travelers.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia;
Having regard to the Foreign Exchange and External Trade Code promulgated by Law No. 76-18 of January 21, 1976, consolidating and codifying the foreign exchange and external trade legislation governing relations between Tunisia and foreign countries, as amended by subsequent texts, notably Law No. 93-48 of May 3, 1993; Having regard to Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016 establishing the statutes of the Central Bank of Tunisia; Having regard to Decree No. 77-608 of July 17, 1977 setting the implementation conditions for the aforementioned Law No. 76-18, as amended by subsequent texts, notably Government Decree No. 2017-393 of March 28, 2017; Having regard to the Foreign Exchange Opinion of the Minister of Finance published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic on February 3, 2006, setting the conditions for non-resident travelers to physically re-export imported foreign currency banknotes, as amended by subsequent texts, notably the Foreign Exchange Opinion of the Minister of Finance published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic on November 24, 2017; Having regard to Foreign Exchange Opinion No. 5 of the Minister of Finance, concerning non-resident accounts, published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic on October 5, 1982, as amended by subsequent texts, notably the Foreign Exchange Opinion published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic on November 24, 2017; Having regard to Circular No. 94-13 of September 7, 1994 to authorized intermediaries, concerning the import, transfer, conversion and re-export of foreign currency by travelers; Having regard to Circular No. 2016-10 of December 30, 2016 to authorized intermediaries, concerning the authorization for the export of foreign currency in foreign banknotes and by checks; Having regard to Opinion No. 2017-09 of the Compliance Control Committee dated November 30, 2017, as provided for in Article 42 of the aforementioned Law No. 2016-35; Decides:

Article 1: An Article 10-bis is added to the aforementioned Circular No. 94-13, as follows:

Article 10-bis: In all cases provided for by this circular, the foreign currency amount to be physically exported may not exceed the equivalent of thirty thousand dinars (30,000 TND) per trip. To this end, the foreign currency export authorizations issued by authorized intermediaries, in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 2016-10 mentioned above, to enable non-resident travelers to physically export foreign currency under the provisions of this circular, may not cover an amount exceeding that fixed by this article.

The re-export of an amount exceeding the aforementioned limit must take place through authorized intermediaries, in accordance with the current regulations regarding non-resident accounts.

Article 3: The provisions of this circular shall enter into force as of December 1, 2017.

The Governor,
Chedly Ayari