Amendments to BNR regulation on foreign exchange regime, increased liability of resident companies

National Bank of Romania Regulation no. 4/2005 on the foreign exchange regime was amended by Regulation no. 6/2023 on 7 August, with the following effects:

• amendment of Article 7 para. (3) regarding the applicable law in the event of non-compliance
• introduction of a provision (Article 7 index 1) whereby residents, as defined in Article 4 point 4.2 of Appendix 1, become responsible for the application of the Regulation to foreign exchange operations

The new regulation sets out in detail which rule applies when it comes to penalising certain actions:

“Failure to comply with Art. 3, Art. 5^2 and Art. 7^1 para. (2)-(4) of this Regulation shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 57 of Law no. 312/2004 on the Statute of the National Bank of Romania.”

On the one hand, Article 7 index 1 stipulates that residents are responsible for the application of the provisions of this Regulation to foreign exchange operations, while, on the other hand, it provides for a number of institutions that are required to verify compliance with the provisions of the Regulation on foreign exchange operations ordered by their customers, including credit institutions, electronic money institutions, payment institutions, non-bank financial institutions, as well as the Romanian-based branches of the foreign institutions mentioned above. In order to ensure the compliance and transparency of operations, the institutions in question may additionally request any information and supporting documents in accordance with their own rules and which are deemed necessary to the carrying out of foreign currency operations.

Foreign exchange operations shall be carried out by the institutions mentioned in paragraph 1 (2) of the newly introduced article in accordance with the rules issued for this purpose and with the other legal provisions in force, failure to comply with which shall entail liability, and the facts shall be ascertained by the staff of the National Bank of Romania, empowered for this purpose, based on the reports received or ex officio.

The newly introduced article thus clarifies the responsibilities of residents and financial institutions, with the main aim being to promote transparency, while also establishing which rule applies in the event of non-compliance with certain provisions of the Regulation.

Source: Regulation no. 6/2023 amending and supplementing National Bank of Romania Regulation no. 4/2005 on the foreign exchange regime