INSTRUÇÃO NORMATIVA BCB Nº 108, DE 19 DE MAIO DE 2021

Establishes procedures for the withdrawal from circulation of national banknotes and coins considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy.

The Head of the Circulating Media Department (Mecir), in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by art. 23, I, letter "a", of the Internal Regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil, annexed to Ordinance No. 84.287, of February 27, 2015, having in view the provisions of art. 4º of Resolution No. 4.492, of May 31, 2016, of the National Monetary Council, and of art. 8º of Circular No. 3.798, of June 20, 2016, of the Central Bank of Brazil,

The Head of the Circulating Media Department (Mecir), in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by art. 23, I, letter "a", of the Internal Regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil, annexed to Ordinance No. 84.287, of February 27, 2015, and based on art. 8º of Resolution BCB No. 223, of March 30, 2022, (Amended by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

R E S O L V E:

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Art. 1º This Normative Instruction establishes operational procedures for the withdrawal from circulation of national banknotes and coins considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy and their forwarding, for examination, to the Central Bank of Brazil – BCB.

Art. 2º In the event of identification of national banknotes and coins considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy in cash operations, financial institutions holding Reserve Bank Accounts or Settlement Accounts shall:

I - retain such banknotes and coins;

II - issue a retention receipt in favor of the presenter, when the identification of the banknotes and coins referred to in the caput occurs at the time of presentation by a natural or legal person, keeping a copy at the institution for 2 (two) years, counted from the date of issuance, with electronic storage of the digitized retention receipt being permitted;

III - the retention receipt shall contain the date of issuance, the identification of the financial institution, the holder's data (name, address, phone, identity document, CPF or CNPJ) and the information regarding the retained cash (municipality, date of retention, denomination, quantity and alphanumeric identification of the banknote);

IV - register all data related to the retention in a "shipment", including the identification of the presenter by the Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF) or the National Registry of Legal Entities (CNPJ);

V - each shipment referred to above shall be informed by a specific message from the Service Catalog of the National Financial System, and the Central Bank of Brazil will inform a specific number for this shipment, which shall be restricted to a single retention event and shall be linked to the CPF or CNPJ of the presenter;

VI - a "shipment" shall consist of items and each item shall contain the data of a banknote or a coin;

VII - the municipality to be informed for each item shall correspond to the municipality where the specimen was effectively retained;

VIII - forward to the headquarters, in Rio de Janeiro, or to the regional representations of Mecir, for examination, the national banknotes and coins referred to in the caput, accompanied by the Forwarding Receipt (RE) document, in two copies, according to the model contained in Annex 1 of this IN; and

VIII - forward, for examination, the national banknotes and coins referred to in the caput, accompanied by the Forwarding Receipt (RE) document, in two copies, according to the model contained in Annex 1 of this IN, to the following representations of Mecir, according to the state of the federation where the retention occurred, namely:

COMPONENT OF MECIR WHERE THE DELIVERY OF NATIONAL BANKNOTES AND COINS CONSIDERED COUNTERFEIT OR OF DUBIOUS LEGITIMACY RETAINED BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS SHOULD BE MADE	STATE WHERE THE RETENTION OF NATIONAL BANKNOTES AND COINS CONSIDERED COUNTERFEIT OR OF DUBIOUS LEGITIMACY OCCURRED
Belo Horizonte	Minas Gerais
Porto Alegre	Rio Grande do Sul
Rio de Janeiro	Acre, Alagoas, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rondônia, Roraima, Sergipe and Tocantins.
São Paulo	São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina

(Inciso VIII with wording given, from 7/3/2024, by Normative Instruction BCB No. 483, of 7/2/2024.)

VIII - forward, for examination, the national banknotes and coins referred to in the caput, accompanied by the Forwarding Receipt (RE) document, in two copies, according to the model contained in Annex 1 of this IN, to the following representations of Mecir, according to the federative unit where the retention occurred, namely:

COMPONENT OF MECIR WHERE THE DELIVERY OF NATIONAL BANKNOTES AND COINS CONSIDERED COUNTERFEIT OR OF DUBIOUS LEGITIMACY RETAINED BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS SHOULD BE MADE	FEDERATIVE UNIT WHERE THE RETENTION OF NATIONAL BANKNOTES AND COINS CONSIDERED COUNTERFEIT OR OF DUBIOUS LEGITIMACY OCCURRED
Rio de Janeiro	Acre, Alagoas, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rondônia, Roraima, Sergipe and Tocantins.
São Paulo	Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo.

(Inciso VIII with wording given by Normative Instruction BCB No. 698, of 1/6/2026.)

IX - when the specimens are identified and retained during cash processing in the treasuries of the financial institutions referred to in the caput of this article, the CNPJ or CPF fields do not need to be informed.

Sole Paragraph. The procedures provided for in items II to IX of the caput shall not be adopted if the retention of the specimens was requested by a police agency or by a judicial authority.

Art. 3º The institutions referred to in the caput of art. 2º shall adopt measures that ensure the payment of legitimate cash.

§ 1º In the event of withdrawal or exchange, including in self-service terminals, where a national banknote or coin considered counterfeit or of dubious legitimacy has been received, the financial institution shall replace the banknote or coin with another in good condition for use, at its own expense, immediately after its presentation by the customer.

§ 2º The banknotes or coins replaced under the terms of § 1º of this article shall be forwarded to the BCB in shipments identified with the CNPJ of the financial institution.

Art. 4º Financial institutions shall register the shipment number and the order number of each item, on each banknote, stamping it with the expression "SUSPECT OF COUNTERFEITING", according to the stamp model and delimited areas of the banknote defined in Annex 2 of this Normative Instruction.

Art. 4º Financial institutions shall register the shipment number and the order number of each item, in handwritten form, on each banknote, stamping it with the expression "SUSPECT OF COUNTERFEITING", according to the stamp model and delimited areas of the banknote defined in Annex 2 of this Normative Instruction. (Amended by Normative Instruction BCB No. 698, of 1/6/2026.)

Sole Paragraph. There is no need to physically identify the coins to be sent for examination.

Art. 5º The banknotes and coins shall be delivered at the headquarters or at the representations of Mecir, observing the territorial areas of operation defined by the BCB in its own regulation, within the deadlines provided for in articles 4º and 7º of Circular No. 3.798, of June 20, 2016.

Art. 5º The banknotes and coins shall be delivered to the components of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) that carry out circulating media activities, observing the territorial areas of operation defined in its own regulation, within the deadlines provided for in article 4º of Resolution BCB No. 223, of March 30, 2022.(Amended by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

Art. 5º The banknotes and coins shall be delivered to the components of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) that carry out circulating media activities, observing the territorial areas of operation defined in art. 2º, item VIII, within the deadlines provided for in article 4º of Resolution BCB No. 223, of March 30, 2022. (Amended, from 7/3/2024, by Normative Instruction BCB No. 483, of 7/2/2024.)

Art. 6º The banknotes and coins to be sent for examination shall be previously packaged in sealed mail bags or envelopes equipped with security seals.

Sole Paragraph. The coins shall be packaged inside a plastic bag equipped with a label that shall contain the shipment number and the identification of the financial institution, and forwarded together with the banknotes, inside the mail bag.

CHAPTER II

ON THE ORGANIZATION OF DATA SHIPMENTS AND THE FORWARDING OF BANKNOTES AND COINS FOR EXAMINATION AT MECIR

Art. 7º The banknotes and coins shall be registered according to the purpose of the examination. If the purpose is "legitimacy examination", the operational procedures are established in this Normative Instruction.

§ 1º When the purpose is "valuation examination" or "damage examination by anti-theft device", the instructions are found in the specific regulations.

§ 2º A shipment may contain only items of the same purpose.

§ 2º A shipment may contain only items of the same purpose and family. (Amended by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

Art. 8º The banknotes and coins shall be organized and packaged according to the following guidelines:

I - order them according to the shipment numbers;

II - group shipments of the same purpose into a "forwarding", which may contain up to 80 shipments;

III - inform each "forwarding" by a specific message from the Service Catalog of the National Financial System, and the Central Bank of Brazil, in turn, will inform the number of this "forwarding". The banknotes and coins of a "forwarding" shall be capped by the Forwarding Receipt – RE (see model in Annex 1), which shall be identified with the forwarding number informed by the BCB;

IV - the RE shall also contain the identification and contact data (e-mail and phone number) of the employee of the sending financial institution or the representative responsible for preparing the shipments and packaging the respective items;

V - the set of several RE's and the respective shipments of the same purpose shall be packaged inside a mail bag or security envelope, numbered and equipped with a closing system that guarantees the integrity and inviolability of the volume;

VI - each mail bag or envelope may contain, at most, 1,000 shipments of the same purpose;

VII - the mail bag or security envelope shall be accompanied, externally, by a list that shall contain the numbering of the forwardings and the respective shipments; and

VIII - the procedures mentioned in this article shall be adopted both for in-person deliveries - carried out by a representative of the financial institution - and for non-in-person deliveries (sent by another modality, at the discretion of the financial institution).

Art. 9º Financial institutions shall arrange the scheduling for the in-person delivery of mail bags or envelopes. To this end, they shall send a scheduling request through the e-mail addresses indicated below, in which they shall inform the quantity of mail bags and shipments to be delivered.

Mecir/Gtbel
(Belém): gtbel.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Mecir/Gtfor
(Fortaleza): gtfor.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Mecir/Gtrec
(Recife): gtrec.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Mecir/Gtsal
(Salvador): mecir.gtsal.expediente@bcb.gov.br

Mecir/Gtbho (BeloHorizonte):gtbho.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Mecir/Gtbsb (Brasília):gtbsb.mecir@bcb.gob.br

Mecir - RJ: sumof.ditec.mecir@bcb.gov.br(legitimacy examination)

Mecir - RJ:susan.dites.mecir@bcb.gov.br (valuation and anti-theft)

Mecir/Gtspa (São Paulo):sumof@bcb.gov.br

Mecir/Gtcur (Curitiba): gtcur.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Mecir/Gtpal
(Porto Alegre): gtpal.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Belém: gtmec.adbel@bcb.gov.br

Fortaleza: gtfor.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Recife: gtrec.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Salvador: mecir.gtsal.expediente@bcb.gov.br

Belo Horizonte: gtbho.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Brasília: gtbsb.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Rio de Janeiro: sumof1.rj.ditec.mecir@bcb.gov.br (legitimacy examination)

Rio de Janeiro: susan.dites.mecir@bcb.gov.br (valuation and anti-theft)

São Paulo: sumof2.sp.ditec.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Curitiba: gtcur.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Porto Alegre: gtpal.mecir@bcb.gov.br

(Article
9º with wording given by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

Belo
Horizonte: gtbho.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Porto
Alegre: gtpal.mecir@bcb.gov.br

Rio de Janeiro: ditec.mecir@bcb.gov.br (legitimacy examination)

Rio de Janeiro: susan.dites.mecir@bcb.gov.br(valuation and anti-theft)

São Paulo: sumof2.sp@bcb.gov.br.

(Art. 9º with wording given, from
7/3/2024, by Normative Instruction BCB No. 483, of 7/2/2024.)

Rio de
Janeiro: ditec.mecir@bcb.gov.br (legitimacy examination)

Rio de
Janeiro: susan.dites.mecir@bcb.gov.br (valuation and anti-theft)

São Paulo: sumof2.sp@bcb.gov.br.

(Art.
9º with wording given by Normative Instruction BCB No. 698, of 1/6/2026.)

Art. 10. Shipments consisting of banknotes forwarded due to suspicion of having been damaged by an anti-theft device, or of banknotes and coins forwarded for valuation examination, shall be packaged separately in a mail bag or security envelope.

CHAPTER III

RECEIPT OF SHIPMENT BY MECIR

Art. 11. Mecir may, at its discretion, adopt one of the following procedures for receiving shipments of banknotes for analysis:

I - receive the closed mail bag, keeping it in a strong room or safe for subsequent verification, providing the presenter, as a receipt, one of the copies of the transport guide or similar document, stamped, dated and signed; or

II - receive the mail bag, open and verify the quantity of items existing inside it, returning to the presenter one copy of each RE contained in the mail bag or security envelope, stamped and signed.

§ 1º The form of receipt shall be registered by Mecir on the RE.

§ 2º The detection of non-conformity, possibly detected during the receipt or verification phases of the shipments, shall be registered by Mecir on the RE.

§ 3º In the event of item I of the caput of this article, after the opening and verification of the shipments contained in the mail bag, the stamped and signed RE's shall be available to the respective financial institutions for a period of up to 30 (thirty) calendar days, counted from the date of verification.

Art. 12. The BCB reserves the right to subsequently verify all data of each shipment received.

Sole Paragraph. The information regarding each shipment item shall be verified and examined subsequently, with the BCB being responsible for carrying out any rectifications in the data originally registered by the financial institutions.

§ 1º The Central Bank of Brazil may carry out any rectifications in the data originally registered by the financial institutions; (Included by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

§ 2º From the verification of non-conformity during the examination, the shipment, the forwarding or the mail bag may be returned to the sending institution, in the situations described below:

I - incomplete content (art. 8º, III and V);

II - forwarding or shipment intended for another BC representation (art. 5º);

III - banknote for examination containing a shipment number already used in another banknote (arts. 8º and 14);

IV - the shipment item (physical) does not correspond to that registered in the system messaging (arts. 8º, III, and 14);

V - absence of shipment number and/or item on the banknote (art. 4º); and

VI - failure in the organization and/or packaging of shipments (art. 8º).

(Paragraph 2º included by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

§ 3º In the event of shipment return, it shall be the responsibility of the sending institution to arrange for the pickup of the shipment at the address of the circulating media area representation.(Included by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

§ 3º In the event of return, it shall be the responsibility of the sending institution to arrange for the pickup of the shipment, forwarding or mail bag at the address of the circulating media area representation where the delivery for examination occurred. (Amended, from 7/3/2024, by Normative Instruction BCB No. 483, of 7/2/2024.)

Art. 13. Mecir shall, when necessary, inform the financial institution about the non-conformities found during the receipt and verification processes of the shipment items.

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Art. 14. For all purposes provided for in Circular No. 3.798, of 2016, financial institutions shall be responsible for forwarding to the BCB the correct data on the retained banknotes and coins.

Art. 14. For all purposes provided for in Resolution BCB No. 223, of 2022, financial institutions shall be responsible for forwarding to the BCB the correct data on the retained banknotes and coins. (Amended by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

§ 1º The registration in the control system regarding the shipment not forwarded to the BCB within a period of up to 180 (one hundred and eighty) calendar days, counted from the date of registration of the shipment, shall be deleted. (Included by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

§ 2º The period cited in the previous paragraph shall be counted from the date of issuance of this Normative Instruction in the case of registrations already present in the control system. (Included by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

Art. 15. Mecir shall proceed with the examination of each shipment item and register the result in a control system.

Sole Paragraph. If legitimacy is confirmed, the corresponding value shall be credited to the Reserve Bank Account or Settlement Account of the financial institution, which shall:

I - effect the credit of the corresponding value due in the current account of the holder customer, within a period of 24 (twenty-four) hours after receiving the credit of the value; or

II - notify the non-holder presenter of the availability of the corresponding value, within a period of 3 (three) business days.

Art. 16. Financial institutions may monitor the examination procedure of each national banknote and coin forwarded, as well as learn about the result of the examination carried out and the credit regarding those identified as legitimate, by using a specific message from the Service Catalog of the National Financial System.

Art. 17. The monitoring, by the interested party, of the progress of the retained specimens may be done on the BCB's internet page (www.bcb.gov.br).

Art. 18. The BCB will resume the service of receiving shipments of banknotes and coins for examination from May 31, 2021.

Art. 18. (Revoked by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

Art. 19. Depending on the registration date of each shipment, financial institutions shall prepare and forward shipments of banknotes and coins for examination according to the following guidelines:

I - for shipments registered before June 28, 2021: observe articles 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º, 5º, 6º, 9º and 10 of this Normative Instruction; and

II - for shipments registered from June 28, 2021: observe the entire text of this Normative Instruction.

Art. 19. In correspondence and/or requests for information related to the shipment of a banknote or coin for analysis, provided to the BCB or to institutions of the judicial power or police agencies, the shipment number shall always be informed as a mandatory identification field. (Amended by Normative Instruction BCB No. 400, of 7/3/2023.)

Art. 20. Circular Letter No. 3,770, of June 20, 2016, is hereby revoked.

Art. 21. This Normative Instruction enters into force on the date of its publication.

Felipe Beer Frenkel

Annexes to Normative Instruction BCB No. 108, of May 19, 2021

ANNEX 1

Model of Forwarding Receipt (RE) - cash for examination

(item VIII of art. 2 of Normative Instruction 108/2021)

FORWARDING RECEIPT NO.: ______________________

Purpose: ( ) Legitimacy ( ) Valuation ( ) Anti-theft

FROM: <ISPB - If/Bank> <name of financial institution>

TO: CENTRAL BANK OF BRAZIL - MECIR / <bc-dependency-code>

1 - Forwarded Shipments:

Shipment Qty	Shipment Qty	Shipment Qty	Shipment Qty	Shipment Qty	Shipment Qty
nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn
nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn
nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn
nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn
nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn
nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	Nnnnnnnnn nnn	nnnnnnnnn nnn

Total items: n.nnn

2 - SUMMARY

Category	Designation	Quantity
Banknotes 1st family	10.00	nnn
Banknotes 1st family	50.00	nnn
Banknotes 2nd family	20.00	nnn
	TOTAL	nnn

3 – RESPONSIBLE FOR PACKAGING THE SHIPMENT (Name, phone, email)

For MECIR use:

Mark with “x” in the space below, the method of receipt:

( ) Shipments checked only for quantity. The Central Bank of Brazil reserves the right to subsequently check and examine all data and make the necessary adjustments (mark with “x” in the indicated space)

( ) Shipments received in closed mailbag for subsequent checking

Date, stamp and signature of the Central Bank of Brazil server

1st copy – Central Bank of Brazil 2nd copy – Sending Financial Institution

ANNEX 2

Model of stamp and positioning on the banknote

(art. 4 of Normative Instruction 108/2021)

a) Stamp with the expression “Suspected of Counterfeiting” to be used by financial institutions

Specifications:

Font: Arial

Diameter: 2.5 cm

Expression “SUSPECTED OF”: in two lines, characters with 2 mm height

Word “COUNTERFEITING”: characters with 3 mm height

b) Positioning of the stamp and shipment number on the banknotes of the first family of the Real:

c) Positioning of the stamp and shipment number on the banknotes of the second family of the Real:

ANNEX 3

Examples of Forwarding of Shipments

(Art. 8 of Normative Instruction BCB 108/2021)

1 - Forwarding: is a set of shipments of the same purpose, headed by a Forwarding Receipt (RE) – see image below.

A Forwarding can have up to 80 shipments, all of the same purpose.

2 - Mailbag or security envelope: must be numbered and equipped with a closing system that guarantees the integrity and inviolability of the volume. The number contained in the security system of the mailbag or security envelope must appear on the value transport guide or other equivalent document accompanying the mailbag or envelope.

The mailbag or security envelope must be accompanied by a listing that must contain the numbering of the shipments contained within it.

A mailbag or envelope may contain, at most, 1,000 shipments of the same purpose.

The delivery of the mailbags must be done by prior scheduling (see art. 9 of the IN).