2024-08-03 20:49:52
The minimum size of the authorized capital of persons wishing to obtain a license for foreign exchange activities has been established, with differentiation by region being determined in 4 regions.
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan reported this in response to a request from Day.Az.
It was noted that the initial authorized capital for Region I – the city of Baku is 600 thousand manats, for Region II – the Absheron region, the cities of Sumgayit and Ganja – 450 thousand manats, for Region III – other cities and regions except for I, II and IV, as well as for the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic – 375 thousand manats, for Region IV – the territories of the Eastern Zangezur and Karabakh economic regions liberated from occupation – 300 thousand manats.
In addition, for each additional facility, except for Region IV, a requirement has been established to increase the share capital in the amount of 300 thousand manats for Region I, 150 thousand manats for Region II, and 75 thousand manats for Region III.
In accordance with the requirements, a different approach was applied to the points that will operate in the territories liberated from occupation, and in order to ensure access of the population to these financial services, minimum capital requirements were established for organizing the activities of currency exchange points in these territories.
In addition, a person wishing to obtain a license for currency exchange activities or in addition to it must deposit a collateral of 10% of the minimum authorized capital into a special account in an authorized bank. For example, a person wishing to open a currency exchange office in the city of Baku must place an authorized capital of 600 thousand manats and deposit an amount equal to 10% of this capital, i.e. 60 thousand manats, as collateral in an authorized bank. If this legal entity wishes to open an additional currency exchange office in the city of Ganja, it must increase the authorized capital by 150 thousand manats and place 10% of this amount, i.e. 15 thousand manats, into a special account in an authorized bank and apply to the Central Bank.
Along with this, according to the new requirements, 3 zones have been defined according to the location of the exchange office. Here, zones of group I are points in airport terminal complexes, zones of group II are in large shopping centers, hotels, railway stations and ports, and zones of group III are in the form of kiosks, separate buildings and parts of buildings with an exit to the street. Currency exchange offices with access to the interior of the building can only be opened in zones of groups I and II.
The currency exchange office must have an area of at least 6 (six) square meters per treasurer in all zones. Also, exchange offices, with the exception of Group I zones, must have an area for customer service. It must be at least 4 (four) square meters in Group II zones and at least 6 (six) square meters in Group III zones. In addition, the treasurer must comply with the appropriate dress code. At the same time, a note on a special electronic board about the commission fee (service fee) when applying the actual exchange rate has been added to the information provided to customers at the exchange office.
In addition, the requirements for the operating hours of the currency exchange office, copies of the issued license and the appendix to the license (if any), as well as for the reflection of information about the Central Bank hotline for consumer access have been retained.
In accordance with these requirements of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Currency Regulation”, there are 5 currency exchange offices operating in the country. Also, according to the new legislation, one currency exchange office began its activities on 24.02.2024, having received the relevant appendix to the license in compliance with the authorized capital and other requirements.
At present, applications for a license for currency exchange activities are being considered within the framework of the legislation. Within the framework of requests for a license for currency exchange activities, in connection with the issues specified in the legislation, appropriate explanations are given.
It should be noted that by the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 8, 2023 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 6, 2023 on amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Currency Regulation” and other relevant decrees, a number of recommendations were given to the Central Bank.
Based on the recommendations, by the decision of the Board of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated December 11, 2023, the “Application form for obtaining a license (appendix to the license) for foreign exchange activities” (form), “Minimum amount of authorized (joint) capital for carrying out foreign exchange activities, requirements for the amount of collateral and the form of the conclusion on their return” and “Procedure for conducting foreign exchange transactions and control over foreign exchange activities by persons who have received a license for foreign exchange activities” were approved.
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