Ukraine’s central bank has made steps to ease some restrictions on foreign exchange transactions, with the relaxed rules effective from today – September 4, 2015.
The revision of the rules comes after early this year the National Bank of Ukraine imposed strict capital controls and Forex restrictions in an attempt to stabilize the hryvnia.
As of today, the amount FX cash or investment metals that could be withdrawn from from clients’ accounts per day is raised from UAH 15,000 to UAH 20,000.
The surrender requirements have also been revised. They no longer apply to funds returned upon the initiative of a foreign bank within a 2-day period.
The regulator has also repealed the mandatory requirement to submit a certificate of no outstanding tax liabilities issued by the State Fiscal Authority of Ukraine as part of documents. This is set to bring relief to importers.
In addition, the central bank has lifted a ban on the registration of amendments to agreements on granting FX credits/loans to resident borrowers by non-residents, should the amendments pertain to the replacement of a lender and/or a borrower in certain cases. More specifically, if this replacement pertains to the liquidation and/or acquisitions.
At the same time, the National Bank introduced some extra restrictions, as it seeks to prevent capital outflows abroad. In particular, the regulator bans purchases of foreign currency for settlements for imported goods that underwent customs clearance procedures before January 1, 2014. This applies to cases when the replacement of a debtor and/or creditor takes place in respect of obligations under foreign trade agreements (contracts). From now on, such resident companies should fulfill their Forex obligations using their own FX funds.
To view the official announcement by the National Bank of Ukraine, click here.