CBN wants BDCs to request BVN, passport, others for dollar sales

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released a draft revised guidelines for Bureau de Change operations that will require BDCs to request for Bank Verification Number or Tax Identification Number, among others, before selling foreign exchange to buyers.

The proposed revision to the rules guiding the activities of BDCs comes amid the severe FX shortage in the country that has led to a steep fall in the value of the naira against leading currencies. 

The draft revised guidelines said: “All transactions by residents shall only commence after electronic retrieval of the potential customer’s BVN or Tax Identification Number (TIN) from the NIBSS or Federal Inland Revenue Service databases, respectively, and the details confirmed to match with the potential customer’s standard identification document. 

“All transactions by non-residents shall only commence after obtaining a copy of the potential customer’s passport identification document and validation with the relevant Nigerian agency.”

It said BDCs may sell foreign currency in the equivalent of USD4,000 and USD5,000 for personal travel allowance or BTA, respectively, to an individual once every six months. 

It said sale of foreign currencies to intending travellers shall be supported by their BVN/TIN, duly completed e-Form A, valid international passport, valid visa, valid international return ticket. 

For BTA, a buyer will also present a letter of request from the corporate body stating the purpose of the visit addressed to the processing BDC, certificate of the business registration or incorporation, letter of invitation from the overseas business partner and tax clearance certificate.

“The amount of foreign currency sold and date of sale shall be endorsed on the passport. A photocopy of the documents, forex endorsement page and sales receipt shall be filed in a sequential order by the BDC,” the document said.

It said BDCs may sell foreign currency up to the equivalent of USD5,000 to a customer for medical bill once a year. “Such bill, which shall be transferred from the BDC’s domiciliary account with a Nigerian bank, shall be paid directly to the hospital and supported by the following documents: duly completed e-Form A, letter of reference from a specialist doctor, or a specialist hospital in Nigeria, valid international passport, valid visa, valid air ticket, and letter issued by the overseas specialist doctor stating the cost of treatment.”

The apex bank said BDCs may sell foreign currency up to the equivalent of USD10,000 to a customer for school fee once a year. “Such fee, which shall be transferred from the BDC’s domiciliary account with a Nigerian bank, shall be paid directly to the school and supported by the following documents: duly completed e-Form A, evidence of admission/course programme, school bill/invoice, and for post-graduate studies, photocopy of first degree certificate or its equivalent/certified true copy of statement of result by the awarding institution.”