Law No. 28/2022, of December 29 – Exchange Rate Law

SUMÁRIO
A V I S O
The matter to be published in the «Boletim da República» must be submitted as a duly authenticated copy, one for each subject matter, containing the following endorsement, signed and authenticated: For publication in the «Boletim da República». IMPRENSA NACIONAL DE MOÇAMBIQUE, E. P. 2ND SUPPLEMENT Assembly of the Republic:
Law No. 23/2022:
Law establishing the Legal Regime of Foreign Citizens, Fixing Their Respective Rules for Entry, Stay and Departure from the Country, as well as their rights, duties and guarantees, and repealing Law No. 5/93 of December 28. Law No. 28/2022:
Law Reviewing Law No. 11/2009 of March 11, Exchange Rate Law and repealing Law No. 11/2009 of March 11.
Thursday, December 29, 2022 I SERIES — Number 251 ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC Law No. 23/2022 of December 29 Whereas it is necessary to adapt the legal regime of foreign citizens in the Republic of Mozambique in light of the challenges posed by the dynamics of migration flow control and combating illegal immigration, under the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 178 of the Constitution of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic determines:
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
ARTICLE 1
(Subject Matter)
This Law establishes the Legal Regime of Foreign Citizens in the Republic of Mozambique, fixing the rules for entry, stay and departure from the Country, as well as their respective rights, duties and guarantees.
ARTICLE 2
(Scope)
This Law applies to foreign citizens in the Republic of Mozambique, without prejudice to what is established in special laws, bilateral or multilateral agreements or international conventions of which the Mozambican State is a party.
ARTICLE 3
(Definitions)
The terms and expressions used are contained in the Glossary attached, which forms an integral part of this Law.
ARTICLE 4
(Rights, duties and guarantees of the foreign citizen)

1. The foreign citizen who resides or is legally present in national territory enjoys the same rights and guarantees established by law and is subject to the same duties as Mozambican citizens, with the exception of civil, political and other rights and duties expressly reserved by law to national citizens.
2. The following are special duties of foreign citizens in Mozambican territory:
   a) respect the Constitution of the Republic; b) respect and comply with the law and public order; c) declare their residence; d) communicate changes of domicile; e) immediately report the loss or misplacement of documents; f) provide information on their personal status when changes occur or whenever requested by the competent authorities.
   ARTICLE 5
   (Documents issued to foreign citizens)
   The National Migration Service issues the following documents in favor of foreign citizens:
   a) residence permit; b) authorization for stay abroad; c) circulation card for seafarers; d) emergency certificate; e) dispatch communication; f) departure declaration; g) travel document for refugees; h) document deposit; i) entry visa. Electronic Edition by Pandora Box, Lda.

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Law No. 28/2022 of December 29
Whereas it is necessary to equip the exchange market with greater flexibility, highlighting the execution of exchange operations, as well as to adjust it to the functioning of a market with free circulation of people, goods and services harmonized with the regional integration process, the Assembly of the Republic, under the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 178 of the Constitution of the Republic, determines:
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
ARTICLE 1
(Subject Matter)

1. This Law regulates acts, transactions, transfers and operations of all kinds that:
   a) are carried out between residents and non-residents, resulting or potentially resulting in payments or receipts from abroad; b) are carried out in the country by virtue of a special exchange regime or involve foreign currency; c) not meeting the requirements referred to in items a) and b), of paragraph 1 of this article, are qualified by specific legislation or regulation as exchange operations.
2. This Law also establishes the regime of entities authorized to conduct foreign exchange trading and partial foreign exchange trading.
   ARTICLE 2
   (Scope)
3. This Law applies to:
   a) individual and collective resident persons, who carry out exchange operations concerning goods or values located in national territory or abroad and rights over these goods or values or activities exercised in their respective territory; b) individual and collective non-resident persons, who carry out exchange operations concerning goods or values located in national territory and rights over these goods or values or activities exercised in the same territory; c) individual and collective non-resident persons, who carry out exchange operations concerning goods or values located in foreign territory and rights over these goods or values or activities exercised in their respective territory, when they have a connection with Mozambican territory; d) the State and other public law entities, who carry out exchange operations concerning goods or values located in national or foreign territory and rights over these goods or values or activities exercised in their respective territory.
4. This Law also applies to the representation forms of resident and non-resident collective persons under paragraph 1 of this article.
5. This Law also applies to concessionaires, specific-purpose entities and each main subcontractor, as well as to financiers, non-resident subcontractors and expatriate personnel, in their capacity as participants of the oil and gas sector operating in the Republic of Mozambique.
   ARTICLE 3
   (Definitions)
   The terms and expressions used in this Law are contained in the Glossary, attached, which forms an integral part of it.
   ARTICLE 4
   (Exchange residency)
6. For the purposes of this Law, the following are considered residents in national territory:
   a) individual national persons with habitual residence in the Republic of Mozambique or whose stay abroad does not exceed one year; b) individual national persons with habitual residence in the Republic of Mozambique whose stay abroad, for a period exceeding one year, is due to academic or health reasons; c) individual national persons with habitual residence in the Republic of Mozambique, who carry out non-occasional activity abroad, namely border workers or seasonal workers and crews of ships, aircraft or other mobile equipment operating wholly or partially abroad; d) individual national persons with the status of diplomat, consular representatives or equivalent, military personnel exercising governmental functions abroad, as well as members of their respective family unit; e) private law entities with headquarters in national territory; f) the Mozambican State, local authorities, public companies, public funds and institutes and other national public law entities endowed with administrative and financial autonomy; g) diplomatic and consular representations of the Mozambican State located abroad. protection, health, safety and maintenance, guiding their education and promoting their harmonious development. Extension of Stay – migratory document or act that enables the holder to stay longer in national territory, according to the authorized period. R Refusal of Entry – administrative act applied to a foreign citizen who wishes to enter the Country without meeting the required conditions for that purpose. T Transit – passage through national territory by a foreign citizen holding the respective visa, from which they are admitted to stay during the layover time in national territory. V Visa – document that enables the holder to receive permission for entry into national territory at the border post. Electronic Edition by Pandora Box, Lda.

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3. The exit of foreign currency in cash, as well as other means of payment to abroad is free for non-residents, provided it does not exceed the limit declared upon entry into the Country.
4. In cases of exit of foreign currency in cash or other means of payment to abroad exceeding the established or declared limit upon entry into the Country, the holder of foreign currency must present proof of its retention and legitimate possession.
5. It is the responsibility of the Bank of Mozambique to establish the limits for inflows and outflows, including the purpose.
6. Without prejudice to situations that may constitute a crime, customs and police authorities and other public entities are responsible, according to the circumstances, for seizing, by drawing up the respective report, amounts exceeding the established limits, as well as communicating to the Bank of Mozambique any violation of the provisions of this article within a maximum period of 72 hours.
7. The seized amounts remain in the custody of the Bank of Mozambique until a final decision or clarification of the situation.
8. Upon expiration of one year, without any justification or claim regarding the seized amounts, they are reverted in favor of the State, by order of the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique.
CHAPTER II
Exchange Policy and Authority
ARTICLE 7
(Exchange policy)
The Bank of Mozambique is responsible for implementing exchange policy.
ARTICLE 8
(Exchange authority)
The Bank of Mozambique is the exchange authority of the Republic of Mozambique.
ARTICLE 9
(Powers of the Bank of Mozambique)
Without prejudice to the powers provided for in the Organic Law of the Bank of Mozambique, and in the provisions of this Law and other applicable legislation, it is the responsibility of the Bank of Mozambique to:
a) regulate, supervise and inspect the functioning of the exchange market; b) regulate, as the sole exchange authority, special exchange regimes; c) inspect public and private entities that carry out exchange operations, through visits and requests for information, among other forms of monitoring; d) define the regulatory principles for operations involving foreign exchange and other means of payment to abroad, as well as gold and other precious metals as financial instruments, with a view to, among other purposes, the solidity of the national currency; e) fix the limits for gold and foreign exchange holdings that may be held by entities authorized to conduct foreign exchange trading; f) calculate reference exchange rates and publish them daily; g) license and inspect entities that conduct foreign exchange trading and partial foreign exchange trading, under the terms provided in this Law;
2. The following are also considered residents:
a) individual foreign persons with habitual residence in the Republic of Mozambique, except diplomats, consular representatives or equivalent, foreign military personnel exercising governmental functions in the Country, including members of their family unit; b) individual foreign persons with habitual residence in the Republic of Mozambique, who carry out non-occasional activity abroad, namely border workers or seasonal workers and crews of ships, aircraft or other mobile equipment operating wholly or partially abroad; c) branches, agencies, delegations, subsidiaries or any other forms of representation of non-resident collective persons, legally represented in the Republic of Mozambique.
3. Residence is presumed habitual after one year from its commencement.
4. The contractual link between individual or collective persons, national or foreign with diplomatic, consular or equivalent representations, as well as with foreign military establishments and international organizations located in national territory, does not determine the loss of resident status.
5. For the purposes of item c), of paragraph 2 of this article, resident status does not apply to situations where, by the nature of the act, it can only be carried out by entities that have acquired legal personality in the Republic of Mozambique, unless the law expressly permits it or powers are granted for its practice.
6. For the purposes of this article, in case of doubt, it is presumed that the person concerned is a resident, with the burden on them to rebut this status.
ARTICLE 5
(Unique Bank Identification Number)

1. The Unique Bank Identification Number, abbreviated as NUIB, is the unique numerical identification assigned by the Bank of Mozambique to individual and collective persons for carrying out banking operations in general, including exchange operations.
2. The NUIB is assigned only once and is mandatory for carrying out the operations referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
3. The NUIB is assigned by the Bank of Mozambique, upon request by the credit institution or financial company.
4. It is the responsibility of the Bank of Mozambique to create the database and regulation for access, assignment, consultation and coding of the NUIB by credit institutions, financial companies and other individual and collective persons.
   ARTICLE 6
   (Inflow and outflow of foreign currency)
5. The entry into national territory of foreign currency in cash and other means of payment to abroad is free, with their respective values being declared whenever they exceed the limit established by the Bank of Mozambique.
6. The exit of foreign currency in cash, as well as other means of payment to abroad is free for residents, up to the limit established by the Bank of Mozambique.
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2730 — (30) I SERIES — NUMBER 251 h) license and inspect any recovery activity, by chemical or mechanical means, of gold, silver and platinum incorporated in metal alloys or other products; i) instruct and decide on exchange infraction processes practiced by entities under its supervision, as well as all public and private entities, individual and collective, provided they arise from exchange operations; j) obtain information from individual and collective entities, public and private that carry out exchange operations under the law.
ARTICLE 10
(Cooperation and duty of collaboration)

1. Without prejudice to the duty of confidentiality, the Bank of Mozambique may request information, as well as conclude agreements with foreign analogous entities and international organizations for the sharing of information on matters covered by this Law, provided it is on a reciprocal basis.
2. Public authorities must collaborate with the Bank of Mozambique for the execution and compliance with the provisions of this Law.
3. Private entities that carry out exchange operations must collaborate with the Bank of Mozambique, under the terms of this Law.
   ARTICLE 11
   (Regulatory competence of the Bank of Mozambique)
4. The Bank of Mozambique exercises regulatory competence under this Law, by Notice, which must be published in the I Series of the Boletim da República.
5. The Bank of Mozambique may, for clarification and establishment of procedures, issue circulars or instructions on matters covered in this Law and its regulation.
   CHAPTER III
   Exchange Market
   ARTICLE 12
   (Integrity of the exchange market)
   The Bank of Mozambique may take measures to safeguard the integrity of the exchange market against deviant and unfounded market conduct.
   ARTICLE 13
   (Safeguard measures for the integrity of the exchange market)
6. To comply with the provisions of Article 12 of this Law, the Bank of Mozambique may, independently of an infraction process, provisionally suspend from office or apply other preventive measures it deems appropriate to one or more members of the governing bodies and employees of credit institutions and financial companies.
7. The Bank of Mozambique may provisionally suspend, credit institutions and financial companies, in particular and individual and collective persons, in general, from carrying out exchange operations.
8. The measures described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article observe the period determined by the Bank of Mozambique, which must not exceed one year.
9. Upon expiration of the period described in paragraph 3 of this article, the entity subject to the measure must submit a request to the Bank of Mozambique for resumption of exchange operations.
10. The Bank of Mozambique must communicate the decision in writing, and may deny it if indications or risk of the situation described in Article 12 of this Law prevail.
    ARTICLE 14
    (Interbank exchange market)
    The Bank of Mozambique establishes the terms and conditions for participation and functioning of the interbank exchange market and applies preventive and sanctioning measures, namely warning, suspension and exclusion, under applicable law.
    CHAPTER IV
    Duties for Carrying Out Exchange Operations
    ARTICLE 15
    (Principle of exclusive intermediation through the financial system) Exchange operations involving payments or receipts to abroad must be carried out exclusively through banks and authorized payment service providers.
    ARTICLE 16
    (Duty of verification)
11. Entities authorized to conduct foreign exchange trading and partial foreign exchange trading must verify, before carrying out the operation, its reality, nature and compliance with applicable legal and regulatory provisions.
12. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this article, interested parties must provide indispensable proof elements for qualifying the requested operation, including those related to determining subjects, object, value and due dates.
13. The duty of verification provided for in this article covers identification, diligence and others provided for in legislation regarding the prevention and combating of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing of weapons of mass destruction.
14. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this article, the duty of verification, whenever applicable, implies obtaining information on the beneficial owner of the operation.
    ARTICLE 17
    (Duty of information)
15. Entities authorized to conduct foreign exchange trading and partial foreign exchange trading must send information to the Bank of Mozambique on exchange operations carried out.
16. For compliance with exchange legislation, the Bank of Mozambique may request information on exchange operations from any individual or collective person, public or private.
17. The requested information must be made available within a maximum period of 15 days or the period determined by the Bank of Mozambique, if longer.
18. Failure to meet the deadline, as well as failure to make available the information referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this article, constitutes disobedience under criminal law, without prejudice to the corresponding exchange infraction.
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DECEMBER 29, 2022 2730 — (31)
ARTICLE 18
(Duty of retention)

1. Entities authorized to conduct foreign exchange trading and partial foreign exchange trading must retain the elements necessary for verifying the nature and reality of their operations.
2. Entities not under the supervision of the Bank of Mozambique, but subject to the duty of retention under legislation on prevention and combating of money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing of weapons of mass destruction, must observe the period established therein.
3. Entities not covered by paragraph 2 of this article must observe the period established in the applicable legislation for their respective activity sector, or, in its absence, general legislation.
   ARTICLE 19
   (Declaration of assets)
4. All residents must declare, under the terms of this Law and other applicable legislation, values and rights generated, acquired or held abroad.
5. The declaration of assets is subject to the duty of secrecy, and must be made available only to the declarant or judicial authority, under applicable legislation, or also under agreements provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law.
6. The Bank of Mozambique establishes, by Notice, the terms and conditions for the declaration of assets.
7. Failure to declare assets within the period determined by the Bank of Mozambique constitutes a crime of disobedience punishable under criminal law, without prejudice to other criminal liability, as well as exchange infraction liability.
   ARTICLE 20
   (Repatriation of revenues)
8. All residents must repatriate revenues from exports of goods and services and investment income abroad.
9. Repatriation of revenues must be carried out in foreign currency, through a bank authorized to operate in the Republic of Mozambique.
10. The Bank of Mozambique establishes conditions regarding repatriation of revenues from exports of goods, services and investment income abroad, including the treatment and maintenance to be given to respective export revenues and foreign investment income.
    ARTICLE 21
    (Payment and receipt in foreign currency)
11. Payment and receipt in foreign currency must be restricted to the transactions of its holder with abroad or with non-residents.
12. Payments and receipts in foreign currency within national territory between residents are prohibited.
    ARTICLE 22
    (Payment and receipt concerning the exterior)
13. Payment to abroad related to imports of goods and services must correspond to the actual entry of goods and performance of services within national customs territory.
14. Receipt from abroad must occur exclusively in foreign currency, except for situations established or authorized by the Bank of Mozambique.
15. The netting mechanism or compensation in receiving from abroad and repatriation of revenues is prohibited.
    CHAPTER V
    Foreign Exchange Business
    ARTICLE 23
    (Exercise of foreign exchange business)
16. Exercise of foreign exchange business is considered the habitual, professional, profit-seeking performance, on own account or for third parties, of exchange operations.
17. Foreign exchange business may be conducted by:
    a) banks; b) foreign exchange houses; c) payment service providers.
18. The Bank of Mozambique publishes the list of entities authorized to conduct foreign exchange business.
    ARTICLE 24
    (Partial foreign exchange business)
19. Partial foreign exchange business is considered the professional performance of buying and selling foreign currency operations, strictly related to the main non-financial activity, under terms authorized by the Bank of Mozambique.
20. Partial foreign exchange business may be conducted by:
    a) travel agencies or of