State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) instructed banks to purchase the export proceeds from the exporters at the buying rate of the weighted average customer exchange rate.
According to the notification issued by the SBP, in cases where the export proceeds are not converted into Pakistani rupee within the retention period, the authorized dealers including banks and exchange companies can purchase export proceeds from the exporters of various goods and services at the close of the retention period at the prevailing market exchange rate.
The central bank has made amendments to its guidelines Foreign Exchange Manual to facilitate the exporters.
Previously, it was permissible for exporters to retain the export proceeds including ‘Advance Payments’ in foreign currency with an Authorized Dealer in Pakistan for five working days of receipt of funds by the Authorized Dealer (value date of Nostro Account) and to sell the same within this period to any Authorized Dealer.
In case of payments where the purpose of remittance has not been identified in the remittance message as payment against exports, the above period shall start once the same is determined by the Authorized Dealer.
However, if an exporter does not conclude a transaction with an Authorized Dealer by end of the fifth working day, the Authorized Dealer that has received the export proceeds shall purchase the same at least at the ‘buying’ rate of the weighted average customer exchange rate of that day as 5 available on SBP website under advice to the concerned exporter.
In case the weighted average customer exchange rate is not available on the SBP website for any currency, the Authorized Dealers may use their own weighted average customer exchange rate for the currency on that day.
Authorized Dealers would allow exporters, upon their request, to retain a permissible percentage of export proceeds in Exporters’ Special Foreign Currency Accounts. The foreign currency so retained shall be kept by the Authorized Dealers in a ‘Special Exporters’ Account’ outside their ‘Exposure’ limits.
