If a resident extractive company wants to open a foreign currency account in Cameroon or anywhere in the CEMAC zone, it must formally apply for prior authorization from the BEAC's Central Services in Yaoundé. The application must be accompanied by the necessary company documents and compliance records.
Information and Documentation Required to Apply for a Foreign Currency Account by a Resident Extractive Company in Cameroon and CEMAC
A. Information Required
- Name of the applicant company;
- Account currency;
- Motivation of the application;
- Transactions that may be debited or credited to the currency account.
B. Documents Required
The application for prior authorisation shall also be accompanied by the following documents:
- An extract from the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register dated less than 3 months ago;
- The Articles of Association of the applicant company and, where appropriate, those of the parent company;
- The identity of the applicant company's directors and principal shareholders;
- The agreements signed with the State and, where applicable, the joint operating agreement with one or more partners;
- The financial statements for the applicant company's last completed financial year;
- Where applicable, external loan contracts and related repayment schedules.
Application Process and Timeline
The prior authorisation application file is transmitted electronically to the Central Bank's Central Services, which acknowledge receipt.
If the Central Bank does not receive any request for additional information within 14 days of its receipt, the application for authorisation shall be deemed complete.
The Central Bank's authorisation is notified to the applicant extractive sector company within thirty (30) days of the acknowledgement of receipt of the complete file, within the meaning of paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the Instruction.
If the necessary information was not provided at the time of the application for authorisation, BEAC may, in the context of the examination of the file, request the applicant to produce the missing information.
Any request for additional information by the Central Bank suspends the processing time of the file by 30 days until the date of actual transmission of the requested information.
At the end of the thirty (30) day period provided for, the Central Bank's failure to reply shall constitute authorisation to open the foreign currency account. The applicant company in the extractive sector takes note, by correspondence addressed to the Central Bank, of the tacit authorisation to open the foreign currency account.
In the event of a formal response within the thirty (30) day period provided for in Article 7 of the Instruction, the Central Bank's reasoned decision shall be notified to the requesting extractive sector undertaking by any means in writing.
Where the response is favourable, the notification from the Central Bank specifies the operations that the extractive sector company is authorised to carry out on the authorised currency account.
Any new category of operations on the authorised account shall be notified to the Central Bank and shall be deemed approved if they comply with the foreign exchange regulations in force.
Any new category of operations on an authorised foreign currency account, admitted by the Central Bank in favour of a company in the extractive sector, is automatically extended to all foreign currency accounts of the same nature in the sector concerned.
The authorisation of the foreign currency account is valid for the duration of the purpose of the account, subject to compliance with the periodic reporting obligations to the Central Bank on the part of the extractive sector company.
Operational Guidelines
Restrictions: Foreign Currency Accounts cannot show a debit balance, and withdrawals to cover local (CFA Franc) needs are strictly prohibited by the law.
Regulatory Compliance: Can be accessed through the BEAC Instructions Portal.