Controls related to import operations carried out on the basis of collection documents received in the name of the customer

Dear Chairman of the Board of Directors, greetings,

With reference to the import operations carried out on the basis of collection documents received in the name of the customer, which may be issued by the foreign supplier - in some cases - from several sources sent to the customer, it has been noted recently that some customers are directing the document sources received by them to more than one bank, which may lead to duplication in the execution of the import operation and increased pressure on free market resources.

In order to tighten control over this type of operations, the following controls have been determined, which banks must adhere to when endorsing these documents:

1. Obtaining a written commitment from the customer - drafted by the legal affairs department of each bank - stating that the documents related to the import operation have not been dealt with by any of the other dealing banks.

2. The customer must approve the bank that endorsed the documents and/or issue a copy of Form (4) of the Customs Release Form, stamped with the original stamps of the Customs Authority, ensuring that the name of the bank that executed the operation is included in it.

3. In the event that no information indicating the release of the goods is received - as mentioned above - from the Customs Authority within one month from the date of execution of the operation, and after following up with the customer in this regard without result, and considering this as a breach on his part, the bank must notify the Egyptian Central Bank of the customer's name and group under the concept of the single customer and related parties issued by the Central Bank, so that the Central Bank, in turn, communicates this to the banking apparatus to include the customer in the default customers list for import operations, thereby preventing any similar operations for the customer and the group in the future.

Please accept our highest respect,

Bank of Egypt