Tengrinews.kz — The National Bank of Kazakhstan has approved new rules for monitoring foreign exchange operations. The key change is that banks and branches of non-resident banks operating in Kazakhstan must now submit documents, information, and reports on foreign exchange transactions to the National Bank.
What information banks will submit to the National Bank
Banks will submit a monthly report on completed foreign exchange operations. It will include transactions that reach the established thresholds, as well as certain foreign currency purchase and sale deals.
For legal entities, the report will include:
- foreign exchange operations amounting to 50,000 US dollars or more.
For individuals, the report will include:
- foreign exchange operations amounting to 10,000 US dollars or more in equivalent;
- non-cash purchase and sale of foreign currency amounting to 1,000 US dollars or more in equivalent.
For the banks themselves, the report will include:
- foreign exchange operations amounting to 50,000 US dollars or more in equivalent;
- foreign currency purchase and sale operations — regardless of the amount.
The reports must be submitted to the central office of the National Bank every month, no later than the 10th day of the month following the reporting month.
What else is changing
The rules also clarify the procedure for processing payments under foreign exchange contracts. If an accounting number is assigned to a contract, it must be indicated in the payment documents. The bank, in turn, will verify the presence of this information.
If the required details are not indicated in a payment or are indicated incorrectly, the crediting of funds may be suspended until the information is clarified. If the received amount cannot be identified within 180 calendar days, the bank will return the transfer to the sender without execution.
In addition, banks and other foreign exchange control agents will be required to report detected violations of foreign exchange legislation to the National Bank.
What this means in practice
In essence, the new rules strengthen oversight of foreign exchange operations through bank reporting. For businesses, the important new reporting threshold is 50,000 US dollars; for individuals, it is 10,000 US dollars. In some cases, non-cash foreign currency purchase and sale transactions will be reported to the National Bank regardless of the amount or at a lower threshold.
