Thanks to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) deployment of an electronic Form ‘A’ to expedite applications for PTA/BTA, medicals, education, and other remittances, Nigerians can now apply for forex online.
The form enables customers to buy forex at the CBN or interbank rate to make payments for eligible services as needed by the foreign exchange manual.
This was made known in a circular titled, “Automation of Form ‘A’ on the Trade Monitoring System” and signed by Dr Ozoemena Nnnaji, Director Trade and Exchange Department.
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The CBN states that all hard copies of Forms ‘A’ created on or before November 2, 2021 (before the start of the e-Form ‘A’) must be used within 15 working days of the Form’s creation.
The CBN also noted that customers would pay a charge of N5,000 as fee per declaration of e-Form ‘A’.
According to the circular, “This is to inform all authorized dealers and the general public of the deployment of e-Form ‘A’.
“Accordingly, the e-Form ‘A’ shall replace the hard copy of Form ‘A’ for invincible transactions [PTA/BTA, medicals, education, other remittances etc.]with effect from November 30, 2021.
“Consequently, all authorized dealers are required to ensure that the processing of Form ’A’ shall only be done electronically on the Trade Monitoring System accessible at www.tradesystem.gov.ng.
“The general public is required to obtain a valid Bank Verification Number (BVN) from their authorized dealer Banks. The BVN is a prerequisite for customers to access the Trade System for e-Form ‘A’ application.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all established hard copies of Forms ‘A’ for which disbursement had not been made within the transition period of 15 working days shall be deemed cancelled.
“All authority dealer banks are enjoined to inform their customers of the development for compliance.” (Nairametrics)