Resolution No. 2,576

RESOLUTION No. 002576 ------------------- Redefines the criteria applicable to the operations of the interest rate equalization system of the Export Financing Program - PROEX. THE CENTRAL BANK OF BRAZIL, in the form of art. 9 of Law No. 4,595, of 31.12.64, makes public that the NATIONAL MONETARY COUNCIL, in a session held on 17.12.98, based on art. 4, items V, VI, XVII and XXXI, of the aforementioned Law and having in view the provisions of Provisional Measure No. 1,700-20, of 27.11.98, R E S O L V E D: Art. 1 In the financing operations for the export of goods and services, as well as computer programs ("software") referred to in Law No. 9,609, of 19.02.98, the National Treasury may grant to the financier or the refinancier, as the case may be, sufficient equalization to make the financial charges compatible with those practiced in the international market. Sole paragraph. The equalization, during its entire period, is fixed and limited to the percentages established by the Central Bank of Brazil. Art. 2 The equalization may be granted in financings to the importer, for cash payment to the exporter established in Brazil, and in refinancings granted to the latter. Paragraph 1 The following are authorized to operate in the modalities of financing to the importer and refinancing to the exporter: multiple, commercial, investment and development banks resident or domiciled in the Country, and the Special Agency for Industrial Financing (FINAME). Paragraph 2 Credit or financial establishments located abroad, including branches of Brazilian banks, are also authorized. Paragraph 3 By credit or financial establishment abroad is understood the establishment regularly constituted under the laws of the country in which it is located, whose statute provides for the possibility of granting credit under any form of loan and which is subject to supervision by a governmental body. Paragraph 4 The Central Bank of Brazil may impose restrictions on the participation of the establishments referred to in the previous paragraph when, in its judgment, it considers the credit granting procedures inadequate. Paragraph 5 The negotiation abroad of the credit instruments related to the export or, when applicable, of the respective letter of credit, does not interrupt, exclude or transfer the right to equalization. Art. 3 The amortization regime of the financings and refinancings is that of semiannual installments counted, as the case may be, from the date of shipment or delivery of the goods, of the invoice, of the commercial contract or of the financing contract, or, still, from the date of consolidation of the shipments and/or the invoicing of the services. Paragraph 1 Interest must be calculated on the outstanding balance and due every six months counted from the respective events indicated in this article. Paragraph 2 The maximum period for consolidation of shipments and/or invoicing of services is 30 (thirty) days, and the date of the last event that integrates it is
considered as the consolidation date. Paragraph 3 Operations with a term of less than 360 (three hundred and sixty) days are admitted, provided that the amortization and payment of interest occur on a single date. Art. 4 The amounts due as equalization are calculated as follows: I - period: identical to the interest counting period, except for the first, which begins: a) when it concerns financing to the importer, for cash payment to the exporter, or refinancing to the latter, granted by an establishment mentioned in art. 2, paragraph 1: from the date of credit to the exporter's current account or from the respective event provided for in the "caput" of art. 3, whichever occurs last; b) when it concerns financing to the importer, for cash payment to the exporter, or refinancing to the latter, granted by an establishment mentioned in art. 2, paragraph 2: b.1) from the date of settlement of the exchange contracts related to the total value of the export or from the date of the respective event indicated in the "caput" of art. 3, whichever occurs last; b.2) from the date of settlement of the exchange contracts related to the partial value of the export or from the date of the respective event indicated in the "caput" of art. 3, whichever occurs last, in cases where this partial value corresponds to at least 15% (fifteen percent) of the export value and provided that the equalization term is less than or equal to the term of the financing granted in the form of Resolution No. 2,575, of 17.12.98. II - calculation basis: the outstanding balance of the financings in each period, recomposed based on the maximum equalizable term, when applicable, using the divisor 36,500 and considering a maximum grace period, for the principal, of six months counted from the date of the respective event provided for in the "caput" of art. 3. III - In the case of operations with a term of less than 360 (three hundred and sixty) days, mentioned in art. 3, paragraph 3, the equalization period is established: a) in operations with a financing term of up to 180 (one hundred and eighty) days: based on the maximum equalizable term, limited to the financing term, counted according to the provisions of subparagraphs "a" or "b" of item I of this article, as the case may be; b) in operations with a financing term greater than 180 (one hundred and eighty) days and less than 360 (three hundred and sixty) days: recomposed into two periods, the first being 180 days counted according to the provisions of subparagraphs "a" or "b" of item I of this article, as the case may be, and the second by the remaining days, based on the maximum equalizable term, limited to the financing term. Paragraph 1 The maximum equalizable percentage of the export and the maximum equalization terms will be defined in a Ministerial Ordinance. Paragraph 2. The amounts owed in financing operations carried out in a currency other than the United States dollar are converted into that currency based on the parity in
effect on the start date of the first equalization period, as published by the Central Bank of Brazil. Art. 5. The amounts calculated in the manner of the preceding article are paid to the establishments mentioned in art. 2, paragraphs 1 and 2, in National Treasury Notes of series I (NTN-I), whose face value is updated by the exchange rate variation. Paragraph 1. For the calculation of the exchange rate variation applicable to the updating of the face value of the NTN-I, the selling exchange rates for the United States dollar at the close of the free-rate exchange market on the business day preceding the date of their issuance and on the business day preceding the date of their maturity, as published by the Central Bank of Brazil, are used. Paragraph 2. The issuance of the NTN-I is processed in book-entry form, by registering the respective credit rights in the names of the establishments mentioned in art. 2, paragraphs 1 and 2, in the Special System for Settlement and Custody (SELIC), through which the redemptions are carried out. Paragraph 3. Establishments that are not participants in SELIC must enter into a contract with a bank participating in that System, covering: a) custody services for the purpose of receiving the NTN-I; b) use of the "Bank Reserves" account for carrying out the financial transactions arising from the equalizations, as well as from the trading of the securities; c) authorization to carry out the exchange operations and respective transfers from or to abroad arising from the redemption or trading of the NTN-I, if the establishment that is not a participant in SELIC is a credit or financial establishment located abroad; d) legal representation services for the purposes and effects of the provisions of the following article. Art. 6. The issuance of the NTN-I is carried out after the credit or financial establishment, among those mentioned in art. 2, paragraphs 1 and 2, or the bank appointed as its legal representative, declares to the Financial Agent of the National Treasury for PROEX that it is in possession of the documents proving compliance with the requirements described below: I - in the case of financing to the importer, for cash payment to the exporter or refinancing to the latter, granted by an establishment mentioned in art. 2, paragraph 1: a) shipment of the goods and, where applicable, invoicing of the services; b) credit to the exporter's current account of the amount in reais corresponding to the financed amount; c) settlement of the exchange operation relating to the non-financed portion, if any; and d) copy of the credit instruments relating to the export, duly accepted and endorsed or, where applicable, of the respective letter of credit, in refinancings granted to the exporter. II - in the case of financing to the importer, for cash payment to the exporter, or refinancing to the latter, granted by an establishment mentioned in art. 2, paragraph 2: a) shipment of the goods and, where applicable, invoicing
of the services; b) settlement of the exchange operations relating to the total amount of the export; c) settlement of the exchange operations relating to the partial amount of the export, in the case provided for in art. 4, item I, subitem b.2; d) copy of the financing agreement signed or of the credit instruments relating to the export, duly accepted and endorsed or, where applicable, of the respective letter of credit. Sole paragraph. Other documents relating to the credit, granted in Brazil and abroad, classified under the terms of this Resolution may be required. Art. 7. The non-settlement of the exchange contracts relating to the inflow of the amount in foreign currency of any portion of principal or interest implies, for the financier or refinancier, the return of the amount received from the redemption of the NTN-I, proportional to the foreign currency amount not received, plus charges calculated based on the SELIC reference average rate. Sole paragraph. For the purposes of the provisions of the "caput" of this article, the Central Bank of Brazil shall debit the corresponding amount to the "Bank Reserves" account of the financier or refinancier or, if applicable, of the bank referred to in paragraph 3 of art. 5. Art. 8. The Financial Agent of the National Treasury for PROEX is Banco do Brasil S.A., which is responsible for: a) receiving requests for classification of financing or refinancing of exports of goods, services and computer programs ("software"); b) presenting to the Export Credit Committee (CCEx) the requests that contain exceptions and those relating to exports of services; c) issuing accreditation letters for operations that fall under the current regulations and presenting to the CCEx those that contain requests for exceptional treatment; d) submitting to the CCEx the requests on appeal, only once; e) carrying out the monitoring and control of the financial and budgetary execution of PROEX; and f) issuing instructions on the operational processing of PROEX and providing exporters with the information necessary regarding the use of the Program. Sole paragraph. The CCEx may establish limits of authority, assign other competences and recommend procedures to Banco do Brasil S.A. - Financial Agent of the National Treasury for PROEX. Art. 9. The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and the Central Bank of Brazil, within their respective areas of activity, shall issue the complementary rules that may be necessary. Art. 10 This Resolution enters into force on the date of its publication, but its effects may retroact to cover operations in which there has been no shipment or delivery of goods and/or invoicing of services, if the interested parties so wish, upon a new request to Banco do Brasil S.A.. Art. 11 - Resolutions nos. 2.380, of 25.04.97, and 2.490, of 30.04.98, are revoked. Brasília, 17 December 1998 Gustavo H. B. Franco President