Includes how foreign exchange is managed and implications for U.S. business;
Last Published: 7/24/2017

The Central Bank is responsible for regulating foreign trade and payment locally and international in the DRC.  Exporters are required to complete a foreign exchange declaration specifying the type of merchandise to be exported, its price, and the currency in which payment is to be received.  These declarations are normally validated by the commercial banks.  Exports must be completed and the proceeds surrendered to the BCC within the validation period.  If this is done, the exporters are typically authorized to retain 90 percent of the proceeds, net of refinancing. Exporters are permitted to retain 100 percent of refinancing associated with export transactions.  For most items, importers are only required to make imports declaration at their commercial bank, though there are exceptions, for example, for certain sensitive items, including arms, explosives, and narcotics. Importantly, the BCC authorizes imports financed from sources other than the local foreign exchange market.  The BCC maintains a relatively liberal system of payments for invisible trade which are made through commercial banks.  However, there are some limited restrictions on outward remittances of salaries for services performed by nonresidents.
 

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