Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced its intention to automate the process of issuance of Certificate of Capital Importation (CCI) for improved efficiency in the banking industry, in June 2016. The apex bank had also directed that all active CCIs be migrated to the electronic CCI (eCCI) portal as physical CCIs would be phased out upon go-live. The eCCI system, an initiative of the Association of Asset Custodians of Nigeria (AACN), Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) and the CBN, is now live, with effect from 11 September 2017. This was announced by the apex bank via its circular of 7 September 2017, signed by W.D. Gotring (CBN’s Director of Trade & Exchange Department).
According to the CBN’s circular, <em>“effective from Monday 11 September 2017, the processing of Certificate of Capital Importation in Nigeria shall only be done electronically on the eCCI platform”</em>. The consequence of this is that paper CCIs will no longer be issued for foreign exchange inflows, and existing ones will no longer be usable, rather an e-certificate which can be viewed and printed on the eCCI system will now serve as evidence of capital importation.
This complete phasing out of physical CCIs is in a bid to enhance transparency and efficient processing of foreign investment flows into the country. The CCI is a statutory evidence of capital inflow/ investment, in cash or goods, into Nigeria. It legitimizes and facilitates the repatriation of dividends, interest/ coupon, and capital to the investor. It also facilitates repayment of foreign loans along with interests accrued.
It is worthy of note that with the implementation of the eCCI, the regulatory requirements for the issuance of the certificate during the paper regime still holds. However, the electronic certificate will now be issued within 24 hours (at no underlying cost) from when the inflow is received, subject to the local exchange control documentations.
The eCCI eases the tracking of investments across banks as it enables users to access their investments using a unique identifier. It also makes transfer and amendment of the certificate easier. Also, requests for CBN’s approval will now be sent online and their statuses easily tracked, as the maintenance and oversight functions in respect of the eCCI application server resides with the CBN. Adequate provision has also been made by the CBN for disaster recovery sites in any event of loss of data.
Ultimately, the electronic regime will alleviate the challenges associated with processing, tracking, handling and safe-keeping of physical CCIs, and thus enhance ease-of-doing-business in Nigeria.