Tunis: The draft of the new foreign exchange code has made changes to the form and content of the current text, which has been in force for more than five decades, as well as to the decrees and texts relating to foreign exchange, said economic expert and financial market specialist Moez Hadidane. In a video interview with TAP news agency, he pointed out that the changes brought about by the new foreign exchange code will mainly concern the form of the text. The foreign exchange market in Tunisia is governed by the Foreign Exchange Code and Decree No. 608 of 1977 on foreign exchange and foreign trade, in addition to a series of laws and texts published by the Ministry of Finance and the BCT and sent to authorised intermediaries (banks and the Tunisian Post Office), the expert pointed out. He added that "the new draft foreign exchange code will replace these texts, which will be merged into a single code, thus avoiding repetition and overlap in certain procedures". In terms of content, he noted that the dra ft law has introduced a fundamental change, especially since the current regulations do not allow the free export of foreign currency, except in two cases. The first case concerns current operations, which include foreign trade operations, transport, operations linked to capital income and expenses (subject to a ceiling) for stays abroad for tourism, study, health and business purposes. The second case concerns the actual net proceeds from the sale or liquidation of capital invested by means of foreign currency imports, even if these proceeds exceed the capital initially invested. The expert pointed out that any other operation is subject to prior authorisation, known as "general authorisation", by the Minister of Finance after obtaining the opinion of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT). He went on to say that the new law has introduced major changes to this section, as it extends the principle of free export (without authorisation) of foreign currency by residents as part of their investments abroad. This will help to open up new markets (outlets) for Tunisian companies and to internationalise them in order to generate wealth and promote growth. This new framework will make it possible to stimulate entrepreneurship, improve the business and investment climate, strengthen the competitiveness of companies and help them conquer foreign markets. Hadidane concluded that whether or not there would be a cap on the amount that could be invested abroad would depend on the final version of the foreign exchange law that the government would submit to the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
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