Directive No. 5/DSB/1997 on Foreign Exchange Import Operations

DIRECTIVE NO. 5/DSB/1997
SUBJECT: FOREIGN EXCHANGE OPERATIONS FOR IMPORTS PROCEDURES

In compliance with the order of His Excellency the Governor of the Banco Nacional de Angola, and with the objective of aligning the implementation of foreign exchange policy, we determine that:

1. Foreign exchange acquired during the 1997 fiscal year, up to sales session No. 12 of May 20, 1997, and which have not yet been traded by banking institutions must be transferred to the Banco Nacional de Angola within 48 (forty-eight) hours.

2. Foreign exchange traded with clients, and which up to this date have not been used for the import of goods, must be repurchased and transferred to the Banco Nacional de Angola within the aforementioned period.

3. Foreign exchange acquired from the Banco Nacional de Angola shall only be debited to clients' Demand Deposit accounts after confirmation of the foreign exchange transfer by the Reserve Management Directorate.

4. The issuance of payment orders in favor of foreign exporters may only be made after submission of the documents required by Instruction No. 4/95 of June 28, as amended by Instruction No. 7/95 of September 29.

5. Banking institutions are permitted to issue payment orders in favor of foreign beneficiaries for amounts equal to or less than USD 30,000.00 (thirty thousand dollars), with the express commitment of the importer to submit supporting documents for the transaction within a maximum period of 60 days.

6. The importer shall be formally notified in writing that failure to submit the documents within the specified period will be immediately reported to the Banco Nacional de Angola – Directorate of Capital and Current Transactions, constituting a violation of the current Foreign Exchange Law and, consequently, rendering the importer unable to conduct new transactions until the documents are duly submitted.

7. Banking institutions shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the provision mentioned in the preceding number.

8. Banking institutions must submit, by Friday of each week, to the Banco Nacional de Angola – Directorate of Capital and Current Transactions, a list of agents who have failed to fulfill their commitments, indicating the importer's name, the transaction value, and the dates on which the foreign exchange was acquired and traded with the client.

9. Banking institutions are prohibited from accepting proforma invoices dated more than 30 days prior to the foreign exchange sales session, bearing full responsibility for including these invoices in the foreign exchange purchase proposal.

10. Amendments to issued letters of credit that modify the beneficiary's name, the goods, the import value, or the requirement for SGS inspection are subject to prior authorization by the Banco Nacional de Angola, with related requests directed to the Directorate of Capital and Current Transactions.

11. The Directorate of Capital and Current Transactions may, whenever deemed necessary, request the opinion of the Banking Supervision Directorate.

12. This directive enters into force immediately
    BANKING SUPERVISION DIRECTORATE CURRENT TRANSACTIONS DIRECTORATE