1. Exports of Goods from Samoa
Under the Exchange Control Regulations 1999, all net proceeds from the sale of exports must be repatriated to Samoa and sold to a commercial bank. Failure to comply with this Regulation is an offense and may result in the Central Bank refusing the certification of the Export Form E and or a fine.
2. Basic Objective
Exchange control procedures covering proceeds of exports have the objective of ensuring that:
- exports are sold for their proper value; and
- proceeds of sales are returned to Samoa and accrue to official foreign exchange reserves
3. General
1. Export Entry Form/ Export Form E
Exporters are required to complete, in four copies, a Customs Department export entry form and an export Form E (obtained from Central Bank of Samoa) declaring the cif value of goods to be shipped. These export forms together with supporting documents (bill of lading/ airway bill and commercial invoice) must firstly be presented to the Central Bank of Samoa.
2. Certification of Export Form E
A Central Bank officer will certify the form E to confirm that cif value declared reflects the prevailing overseas market price and correct volumes of goods to be exported. He may amend the cif value declared if appropriate.
After certification of the export Form E (by the Central Bank officer), the two (2) copies of the export Form will be retained by the Central Bank the remaining two copies are for the Customs Department and the exporter.
3. Cargo Manifests and Export Price Lists
The Central Bank will use cargo manifests (from Shipping Companies) and the export price lists from the Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry for verification of export consignments and values.
4. Fish Exports
(i) Provisional Export Entry
For fish exports, exporters must complete in quadruplicate a provisional export entry for fish. The four copies of this provisional form, together with supporting documents (bill of lading/ airway bill and commercial invoice) must firstly be lodged with the Central Bank of Samoa for clearance (in consultation with the Fisheries Division) before lodging with the Customs Department to facilitate a shipment of fish consignment.
(ii) Export Entry
Within 30 days from the date of shipment of a fish consignment, a fish exporter must then complete an export entry and an export Form E (in quadruplicate), in respect of a particular consignment and submit these to the Central Bank of Samoa, declaring the actual value of the export consignment.
The declared value on the export entry must be supported by proper documentation from the importer confirming the actual value of a consignment.
The Central Bank of Samoa will certify the export entry before passing it over to the Customs Department to clear the provisional account and record the actual value of the export consignment.
4. Realization of Export Proceeds
Upon the receipt of export proceeds in foreign exchange (in cash or in the form of a bank cheque/ draft), the exporter is required to lodge these funds (plus the copy of the export entry and export Form E to which the funds relate) with his bank. In the case where export proceeds are transmitted direct to his bank, an exporter must reconcile with the bank the funds received against respective consignment(s) should this be necessary.
The commercial bank, after conversion of the foreign exchange received from an exporter, will then certify the exporter's copy of the export form together with its own copy. The copy held by the commercial bank will then be sent to the Central Bank (it is necessary for the amount actually received to be entered on the reverse of the export entry form prior to certification). The exporter must hold on to his certified copy of the export entry for presentation to the Central Bank in the event that the commercial bank's copy gets lost or does not reach the Central Bank within the allowed period.
All export proceeds should be received into Samoa and the foreign exchange sold to a commercial bank as soon as possible, but no later than two months from the date of shipment of exports to countries other than American Samoa. For exports to American Samoa, export proceeds must be realized within four weeks from the date of shipment.
5. Commercial Banks Handling Export Proceeds
Commercial Banks are required to return to the Central Bank respective export entries (export forms) for export consignments that they have not received export proceeds from (within two months for exports to American Samoa and three months for exports to other countries) for appropriate Central Bank action on the exporter.
6. Short Shipment
If the amount received is short of the declared value of the export consignment, the Central Bank will require documentation from the exporter to satisfactorily explain the shortfall.
It is recommended that exporters should insist on a letter of credit being established (particularly for large export consignments) especially in the case of overseas importers whose payment records have been unsatisfactory.
7. Exports Exempted from Exchange Control Procedures:
The export procedures described above will not apply to exports of the following:
- goods included in any single consignment exported by ship, aircraft or post, the export value of which does not exceed ST$250;
- gifts up to the value of ST$500;
- trade samples up to the value of ST$1,000 exported without charge;
- passengers' baggage and household effects that are accompanied or unaccompanied goods;
- goods begin temporarily exported for repair and return; and
- stores and equipment of a departing ship or aircraft for consumption or installation on the ship or aircraft.
Last updated 03 Nov 2024