Circular No. 3798 — Establishes Deadlines for Delivering Suspected Counterfeit National Banknotes and Coins to the Central Bank of Brazil and Provides Other Measures

The Collegiate Board of the Central Bank of Brazil, in a session held on June 15, 2016, based on art. 10, item II, of Law No. 4.595, of December 31, 1964, and art. 4 of Resolution No. 4.492, of May 31, 2016,

R E S O L V E:

Art. 1 This Circular establishes deadlines for the delivery to the Central Bank of Brazil of national banknotes and metallic coins considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy retained by financial institutions and provides for other measures.

Art. 2 Financial institutions holding Bank Reserve Accounts or Clearing Accounts, upon identifying national banknotes and metallic coins considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy, in payment, withdrawal, deposit, cash exchange, or any other cash operations, shall:

I - retain such banknotes and metallic coins;

II - provide holders of the banknotes or metallic coins with a retention receipt, keeping a copy in their possession for at least 2 (two) years;

III - register the holder's data and the data of the retained national banknotes or metallic coins in their own computerized system and forward them to the Central Bank of Brazil, through a specific message from the Catalog of Services of the National Financial System; and

IV - forward the retained national banknotes and metallic coins to the Central Bank of Brazil, for analysis, separately from other banknotes or coins normally forwarded, as defined in specific regulations.

§ 1 If the retained specimens have been requisitioned by police agencies or judicial authorities, the institutions mentioned in the caput are exempt from adopting the procedures referred to in items II, III, and IV.

§ 2 Financial institutions, upon request, shall make available information regarding the progress of the analysis process to the holder whose cash was retained.

Art. 3 In the event of a withdrawal, including at self-service terminals, where a banknote considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy has been received, the drawee financial institution shall, at its own expense, replace it with a genuine one, immediately after its presentation by the customer.

§ 1 The measure provided for in the caput of this article also applies in the case of the customer receiving metallic coins considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy.

§ 2 The same procedure indicated in the caput shall be adopted by the financial institution in exchange operations carried out at service counters.

Art. 4 The retained national banknotes and metallic coins shall be delivered to the Central Bank of Brazil, observing the areas of operation of its regional representations, as defined in specific regulations, within the following deadlines:

I - up to 30 (thirty) calendar days, for retention occurring in places where the Central Bank of Brazil has representation; and

II - up to 45 (forty-five) calendar days, for retention occurring in other localities of the national territory.

Art. 5 After the analysis of the presented national banknote or metallic coin, the Central Bank of Brazil shall inform the result to the sending financial institution.

Art. 6 Non-compliance with the provisions of this Circular shall subject financial institutions and their respective administrators to the penalties provided for in current legislation.

Art. 7 The financial institutions referred to in art. 2 shall have 180 (one hundred and eighty) days to comply with the deadlines established in art. 4 and must, at the end of this period, comply with them in full.

Art. 8 The Department of Circulating Medium is authorized to issue complementary norms for the application of this Circular.

Art. 9 This Circular enters into force on the date of its publication, except for art. 4, which will enter into force 180 (one hundred and eighty) days after the entry into force of this Circular.

Luiz Edson Feltrim
Director of Administration