The National Reserve Bank of Angola (BNA) will sanction commercial banks that do not observe the rules applicable to foreign exchange transactions of prepayments and will be prevented from carrying out new foreign exchange operations of merchandise imports.
According to a press release from the Central Bank that Angop had access Monday says that the measure is based on the fact that BNA has recently observed high levels of non-compliance by the importing companies with regard to the deadlines for delivery of supporting documentation for commercial banks in cases of use of prepayments.
In order to ensure compliance with the rules applicable to this modality of payment by all parties involved in these transactions, the BNA recalls that the said rules the consequences of their non-compliance are contained in Notice no. 5/18, of 17 July.
According to this notice, in the case of prepayments, the importer must deliver to the bank the proof of the entry of the goods into the country, within 30 (thirty) days, counting from the date of customs clearance, not exceeding 180 days, counted from the settlement date of the foreign exchange transaction.
Banks should keep an up-to-date record of meeting delivery deadlines for supporting documentation in the event of prepayments and shall report monthly to the National Bank of Angola the list of importing entities that have not met those deadlines.
Banks shall refuse to carry out future operations of the same nature, provided that failure to comply with these deadlines is established, unless it has occurred for justifiable reasons and, in the meantime, the situation has been duly regularized.
Source: Angop
