On 20.02.2020, the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is the regulatory body regarding foreign exchange and currency control in Azerbaijan, has approved Amendment to the Regulations on the Operations of residents in foreign currency and of non-residents in local and foreign currency in Azerbaijan.
Under the amendments to the foreign currency control regulations of Azerbaijan, the previously prescribed 270 days for importing goods or obtaining services after advance payment to a foreign bank account has been increased to 2 years. In other words, an importer of goods or services into Azerbaijan would have 2 years to provide customs declaration of goods imported to Azerbaijan after the date of advance payment. The same rules apply to the import of services, i.e. obtaining services from abroad shall be completed within 2 years from the date of making advance payment.
Under another amendment to the said currency control regulations, the requirement to declare the unrealized import of goods or services visa-a-vis the advance payment for the purposes of importing goods to Azerbaijan or obtaining services from foreign countries is released where the value of the non-imported goods (services) is not above 10 000 USD.
The above-elucidated improvements to the foreign exchange and currency control regulations of Azerbaijan would bring about further simplification for companies involved in trade, mainly import of goods into Azerbaijan.
The amendments would enter into force after being registered by the Ministry of Justice.
For questions regarding currency control or import-export regulations of Azerbaijan, please contact us.
