Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 2020-02 dated February 4, 2020

CIRCULAR TO APPROVED INTERMEDIARIES NO. 2020-02 DATED FEBRUARY 4, 2020 Subject: Financial Settlement of Imports and Exports of Goods.

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 legislation governing foreign exchange and external trade regulating relations between Tunisia and foreign countries, as amended by subsequent texts and notably the decree-law No. 2011-98 of October 24, 2011; Having regard to Law No. 94-41 of March 7, 1994 on external trade, as amended by Law No. 99-09 of February 13, 1999; Having regard to Law No. 2016-35 of April 25, 2016 establishing the status of the Central Bank of Tunisia; Having regard to Decree No. 77-608 of July 27, 1977 setting the implementation conditions for the aforementioned Foreign Exchange and External Trade Code, as amended and supplemented by subsequent texts and notably Government Decree No. 2017-393 of March 28, 2017; Having regard to Decree No. 94-1743 of August 29, 1994 setting the procedures for carrying out external trade operations, as amended and supplemented by subsequent texts, and notably Decree No. 2014-3487 of September 18, 2014; Having regard to Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 91-07 of April 24, 1991 on the clearance and monitoring of domiciliation files related to external trade operations; Having regard to Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 94-14 of September 14, 1994 on the financial settlement of imports and exports of goods, as amended by subsequent texts and notably Circular No. 2006-24 of December 18, 2006; Having regard to Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 2002-08 of June 21, 2002 on the use of the integrated automated system for processing external trade operations, as amended by Circular No. 2014-11 of October 16, 2014; Having regard to Circular to Approved Intermediaries No. 2010-04 of February 16, 2010 on customs clearance via the integrated automated system for processing external trade formalities; Having regard to Opinion No. 02 of the Compliance Control Committee dated January 27, 2020,

Decides:
Article 1 - The provisions of Articles 6, 7, 10, the first paragraph of Article 11, and Articles 12 and 13 of Circular No. 94-14 of September 14, 1994, on the financial settlement of imports and exports of goods, are repealed and replaced as follows:
« Article 6 (new) - Subject to the provisions of Articles 7 and 8 bis, settlement of imports must be carried out after the actual entry of goods into Tunisia, as evidenced by customs clearance received by the approved domiciliary intermediary in accordance with current procedures. The approved domiciliary intermediary processes transfers within the limits of the customs clearance amounts and final invoices endorsed by customs. » « Article 7 (new) - The approved domiciliary intermediary is authorized to make advance payments or settle installments, as required by the supplier under the commercial contract, subject to the issuance, in favor of the resident importer, of a refund guarantee for the settlement amount, payable on first demand by the non-resident supplier's bank. However, issuance of the guarantee specified in the first paragraph of this article is not required for settling installments related to importing products intended for direct use by the resident importer in their business's goods or services production cycle, or for products necessary to fulfill a public contract, within the quantities stipulated by that contract. The installment must not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the value of the import operation subject to settlement, unless the value of the imported products does not exceed twenty thousand dinars (20,000 TND). Settlement of the installment is processed upon presentation of the commercial contract or a copy of the contract. » « Article 10 (new) - Sale prices may be settled by any means of payment, when the related contracts provide for settlement periods up to 60 days from the date of shipment of the goods. » « Article 11, first paragraph (new) - Sales whose related contracts provide for settlement periods ranging from 61 to 360 days, calculated from the date of shipment of the goods, are carried out freely when they meet one of the following conditions:

• They are accompanied by a payment guarantee issued by a non-resident bank.
• They provide for the opening in favor of the resident exporter of an irrevocable documentary credit or a stand-by letter of credit.
• They provide for payment by a bill of exchange issued in the name of the approved intermediary or endorsed to its benefit and guaranteed (avalized) by a non-resident bank.
• They are covered by an export credit insurance policy. »

« Article 12 (new) - Sales whose related contracts provide for settlement periods ranging from 61 to 360 days, calculated from the date of shipment of the goods, and which do not meet one of the conditions specified in Article 11, first paragraph (new) of this circular, as well as sales providing for settlement periods exceeding 360 days, are subject to prior authorization from the Central Bank of Tunisia. » « Article 13 (new) - For sales settled by documentary credit or documentary collection against payment or acceptance, the exporter must submit to the approved domiciliary intermediary, as soon as the goods are taken over by the carrier, the documents representing the goods (final invoice, transport document, etc.). Direct submission of these documents to the client or carrier is prohibited. »

Article 2 - Articles 8 bis and 8 ter are added to Circular No. 94-14 of September 14, 1994, on the financial settlement of imports and exports of goods, as follows:
« Article 8 bis - The approved domiciliary intermediary is authorized to make advance payment for the price of imported goods, provided that:

• the imported goods are intended for direct use by the resident importer in their business's goods or services production cycle;
• the value of the goods subject to the import operation, as fixed in the commercial contract, does not exceed twenty thousand dinars (20,000 TND);
• the advance payment is required by the supplier under the commercial contract.

Splitting (fractionation) for advance payment of an import operation whose total value exceeds the ceiling specified in the first paragraph of this article is prohibited. When the approved intermediary has valid reasons to believe that the amount subject to advance payment may result from splitting an amount exceeding the aforementioned ceiling, it must suspend execution of the settlement and immediately inform the Central Bank of Tunisia. » « Article 8 ter - The approved domiciliary intermediary that has processed settlements in accordance with the provisions of Articles 7 (new) and 8 bis of this circular must ensure the actual entry into Tunisia of the imported goods, based on customs clearance data received in accordance with current procedures. In case of non-completion of the import operation by the contractual due date, or when it appears after customs clearance that the transferred amount exceeds the cleared amount, the importer is required to repatriate without delay any improperly transferred amounts. »

Article 3 - This circular enters into force as of the date of its publication.
The Governor
Marouane El ABASSI