Notice No. 02/GGBM/2006: New Structure and Wording of Notice No. 6/GGBM/2005

BANCO DE MOÇAMBIQUE
NOTICE NO. 02/GGBM/2006
SUBJECT: New structure and wording of Notice No. 6/GGBM/2005

Given the need to update Notice No. 6/GGBM/2005 of May 25, which establishes minimum procedures to be observed in the process of import and export of goods and services, and to clarify issues arising from its implementation, the Bank of Mozambique, under the powers conferred by the combined provisions of Articles 28 and 37, letter d) of Law No. 1/92 of January 3 – Organic Law of the Bank of Mozambique -, and of paragraph 3 of Article 8 of Law No. 3/96 of January 4 – Exchange Law -, determines:

1. Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 13 and 16 of Notice No. 6/GGBM/2005 of May 25, hereinafter referred to as the Regulation on Import and Export of Goods and Services, are amended, with their structure and wording becoming as set out in the annex to this Notice.

2. Regarding operations already initiated, banks must adjust them to the provisions of the attached Regulation within a period of 90 days.

3. This Notice enters into force immediately, establishing the discipline for the import and export of goods and services, and revoking Articles 12 to 17 of Notice No. 5/GGBM/96 (Regulation of the Exchange Law), as well as any other provisions that contradict it.

4. Doubts arising from the interpretation of this Notice must be submitted to the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Mozambique, which will issue the instructions deemed necessary for its correct implementation.

Maputo, May 29, 2006
Adriano Afonso Maleiane
GOVERNOR

ANNEX
BANCO DE MOÇAMBIQUE
NOTICE NO. 06/GGBM/2005
SUBJECT: Regulation on Import and Export of Goods and Services

Given the need to establish the principles to be observed in the process of import and export of goods and services, and to define the discipline governing these exchange operations, under the combined provisions of Articles 28 and 37, paragraph 2, letter d) of Law No. 1/92 of January 3 – Organic Law of the Bank of Mozambique -, and of paragraph 3 of Article 8 of Law No. 3/96 of January 4 – Exchange Law -, the Bank of Mozambique determines:

CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 1
(Object, scope and duty of verification)

1. This Notice establishes the rules and minimum procedures to be observed by banks in transactions involving payments or receipts related to import and export processes of goods and services through the national banking system.

2. In carrying out the operations covered by this Notice, banks must verify their legal conformity and, in case of doubt regarding their legality, must refrain from executing them.

ARTICLE 2
(Definitions)

1. For the purposes of this Notice, the following are considered:
   a) Import – the operation between a resident and a non-resident resulting in the entry of goods into the national customs territory; b) Export – the operation between a resident and a non-resident resulting in the exit of goods from the national customs territory;

c) Goods – movable assets that may be subject to import and export, also referred to in this Notice simply as "goods". d) Services – provision of assistance or performance of tasks by a non-resident for a resident or vice-versa, or use of an asset under similar circumstances, without transfer of ownership of a material asset, notably in the following areas of activity: transport, communications, travel, construction, insurance, IT, information, services related to trade, royalties and licenses, Government services and financing (excluding income, such as interest).

2. The classification of goods (merchandise) and services must be made in accordance with the current Table of Exchange Operations.

Article 3
(General payment modalities)

1. Subject to the exceptions provided for in this article, only the following general payment modalities must be used in the settlement of import operations of goods (merchandise) and services:
   a) In the import of merchandise:
   (i) Documentary collection
   (ii) Documentary credit. b) In the import of services:
   (i) Documentary collection
   (ii) Bank transfer

2. Except for the situation provided for in paragraph 3 of this article, no payment to the exterior should be made without the importer presenting documents proving the entry of merchandise into the national customs territory.

3. When there is a solid relationship of trust between the bank and the importer, payments may exceptionally be advanced, in whole or in part, on the condition that the importer commits to the bank to deliver the documents proving the entry of the merchandise into the national customs territory within a maximum period of 90 days.

4. Payment for services should only be made upon confirmation of the provision of said services by the beneficiary, which must be endorsed on the respective commercial invoice.

5. In all cases of advance payment, made in light of paragraph 3 of this article, regardless of their value, a guarantee of equal amount must be obligatorily required, to be provided by a banking institution recognized by the importer's bank.

6. In the use of the modalities referred to in this article, banking customs and best practices of international trade must be taken into account, notably the uniform rules and usages issued by the International Chamber of Commerce.

CHAPTER II
PROCEDURES RELATING TO IMPORTATION

Article 4
(Requirements to be observed in documentary credit) When using documentary credit modalities, the initiative to open the credit belongs to the importer, who must obligatorily include the following information:
a) Full and correct name of the beneficiary and respective address; b) Amount and currency of the credit; c) Type of credit; d) Reimbursement conditions; e) Brief description of the merchandise, including quantities and unit price, as indicated in the pro-forma invoice; f) Summary description of the required documents; g) Place of shipment and destination of the goods; h) Partial shipments allowed or not; i) Transshipments allowed or not; j) Validity for shipment (if applicable) k) Validity of the credit; l) Transferable credit; m) Revolving credit; n) Form of notification to clients (by telephone, telex, etc.)

ARTICLE 5
(Registration and Organization of Exchange Operations)

1. Banks must register and organize the exchange operations they carry out in a careful manner, with sequential numbering for each payment modality and indication of the year to which it refers.

2. This information must always be available and updated.

ARTICLE 6
(Mandatory documents)

1. Regardless of the modality adopted, the following documents are required for any import of merchandise:
   a) Commercial invoice, in at least triplicate; b) Transport documents; c) Pre-shipment Inspection Certificate, if applicable; d) Document proving the entry of goods, accepted by the Customs Authority.

2. Transport documents must be issued to the order of the Ordering Bank and, according to the type of transport used, the documents listed in the following table will be required:

Required Transport Documents
Transport Type | Required Transport Document Type --- | --- Maritime | Bill of Lading Air | Air Waybill Railway | Consignment Note Road | Road Transport Document or Export Declaration

ARTICLE 7
(Requirements of the commercial invoice)
The final invoice must contain, when applicable, at least the following information:
a) Supplier/exporter: name, full address, Country, telephone and/or fax; b) Consignee/Importer: name, full address, telephone and/or fax; c) Date of issue and respective number; d) Designation of the goods, e) Quantities, brands, models, serial numbers, units, gross and net weight, volume or meterage, and other specifications according to the quality of the goods; f) Unit prices, transaction value and currency in which the values are expressed; and g) Delivery and payment terms.

ARTICLE 8
(Requirements of the Transport or Shipment Document) The Transport Document must obligatorily contain the following information:
a) The name of the carrier or authorized agent; b) Signature and stamp of receipt or other similar indications that the goods have been received for shipment; c) Indication of the place of loading and unloading of the goods; d) Number of originals issued in the case of bills of lading; e) Certify if there is concordance between the quantity and description of the merchandise contained in the invoice; f) For road transport cases, the documents must contain the identification of the respective driver and vehicle license plate; g) Other requirements required by the payment modality adopted.

ARTICLE 9
(Requirements of the Pre-shipment Inspection Certificate) In the verification of the Pre-shipment Inspection Certificate, credit institutions must obligatorily verify:
a) If the document was issued by the requested entity; b) If it is signed; c) If the certificate complies with the requested inspection; d) If it does not contain any declaration prejudicial to the merchandise.

ARTICLE 10
(Other documents)

1. In addition to the documents mentioned above, others may be required depending on the exchange legislation of the seller's country.

2. In the verification of the documents referred to in this article, their consistency with the other documents comprising the file must be taken into account.

ARTICLE 11
(Document verification)

1. Documents must be rigorously verified by credit institutions taking into account the payment modality used.

2. After verification and settlement of the documents, they are endorsed and delivered to the importer.

ARTICLE 12
(File constitution and archiving)
For each operation, credit institutions must constitute an individual file in which the following documents must be included:
a) A copy of the single document, if applicable; b) Documentary credit, if applicable; c) Commercial invoice;

d) Shipment document; e) Remittance letter (if applicable); f) Settlement and/or payment bordereaux; g) Correspondence received and sent regarding the transaction.

CHAPTER III
PROCEDURES RELATING TO EXPORTATION

ARTICLE 13
(Export via Documentary Credit)

1. In exports, the following payment modalities are admitted:
   a) Checks and transfers; b) Documentary Credit; c) Documentary Collection.

2. It is incumbent on banks to adequately assist exporters in the strict observance of the terms and conditions of the documentary credit for the immediate settlement of said export.

3. Before notifying the documentary credit to the beneficiary (Exporter), they must ensure that the credit terms and conditions are in accordance with the exchange legislation of the country, and if these are capable of being fulfilled within the established period.

4. In the event that there is any clause that cannot be fulfilled, the credit institution must recommend to its client (Exporter) that they request the Importer to make said alteration, which must be communicated by the importer's bank to the credit institution of the Exporter before the shipment of the goods.

ARTICLE 14
(Mandatory Documents)

1. Exporters must present a copy of the Single Document.

2. The commercial invoice and the shipment document will obligatorily appear on the list of documents to be presented in any of the payment modalities.

3. Transport documents must be issued to the order of the exporter's bank and endorsed to the importer's bank.

ARTICLE 15
(Document verification and negotiation)

1. Documents must be rigorously verified by credit institutions taking into account the payment modality used, especially when it concerns documentary credit.

2. When the conditions are found to be fulfilled by the beneficiary (Exporter), the credit institution claims reimbursement under the terms provided in the documentary credit.

3. If the conditions have not been fulfilled, the credit institution has one of the following alternatives:
   a) Request the beneficiary to make changes to the documents in accordance with the requirements of the Documentary Credit; b) Request authorization from the issuing or confirming bank to pay or negotiate with the enumerated discrepancies; c) Send the documents to the issuing or confirming bank for their decision on payment.

ARTICLE 16
(Export via Documentary Collection)

1. If the modality used for payment of the export is documentary collection, the documents will be examined by credit institutions taking into account the international norms regulating documentary collections.

2. After bank authorization for negotiation or to make the payment, the respective payment is made and the Single Document is used by stamping it indicating the amount used and respective date.

3. If they are in order, they are sent to the bank indicated by the Exporter (presenting bank) under a remittance letter where reimbursement conditions will also be included.

ARTICLE 17
(File constitution and archiving)
For each operation, credit institutions must constitute an individual file in which the following documents must be included:
a) A copy of the Single Document;

b) Documentary credit and respective alterations to the credit terms. (if applicable); c) Remittance Letter to the Importer's Bank; d) Commercial invoice; e) Shipment document; f) Settlement bordereaux; g) Other telexes; h) Telex or payment confirmation.

CHAPTER V
FINAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 18
(General register)
Credit institutions must maintain a register for each type of operation (import or export) where the following data must appear:
a) Sequential number of the operation, preceded by the year of the operation; b) Name of the ordering party; c) Amount of the documentary credit; d) Type of documentary credit (irrevocable, revolving, etc); e) Name of the beneficiary; f) Negotiating bank; g) Confirming bank; h) Status of the credit (cancelled, settled or extended); i) A copy of the single document or equivalent document.

ARTICLE 19
(Entry into force and revocation)
This Notice enters into force immediately, revoking all provisions that contradict it.

ARTICLE 20
(Clarification of doubts)
Doubts arising from the interpretation and application of this Notice will be clarified by the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Mozambique.

THE GOVERNOR,
Adriano Afonso Maleiane