List of foreign exchange transactions permitted between residents

Except in what cases are foreign exchange transactions between residents prohibited?

In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art.
9 of Law No. 173-FZ, foreign exchange transactions between residents in Russia are prohibited, except in a limited number of cases. Currency transactions between residents are allowed to be carried out:

In the following cases:
when transferring rubles from one resident’s account opened outside Russia to another’s account opened in Russia, and vice versa, from a Russian account to one opened abroad;
when transferring rubles from a resident’s account opened abroad to the same foreign account of another resident;
resident legal entities when carrying out the following currency transactions with funds credited to their foreign accounts:
for the payment of wages to employees of its representative office located abroad;
for reimbursement and payment of travel expenses of employees of foreign missions sent to the territory of the country where the representative office is located, or to another place, with the exception of business trips in Russia;
cash payments (including in foreign currency) when carrying out transactions with resident individuals located abroad and foreign branches (representative offices) of other resident legal entities;

resident individuals when carrying out any currency transactions with funds credited to their foreign accounts, with the exception of operations for the transfer of assets and the performance of work (services) on the territory of Russia;

to resident individuals through their accounts opened with authorized banks, for any payments, except:

donating currency to the country and society or to close relatives and spouses;
wills/receipt of currency by inheritance;
acquisition of currency valuables for collecting purposes;
making a transfer of funds without opening a foreign currency account from Russia or receiving foreign currency in Russia as a transfer, since the Central Bank sets a limit on the amount of such transfers.

When making payments in a duty-free store, as well as when selling goods (providing services) along the route of the vehicle abroad.

In commission trading, if the subject of the commission agreement is the conclusion of an agreement and the fulfillment of obligations under it with a non-resident for the supply of goods (provision of services, transfer of rights to intellectual property and information), including when returning funds to the principals in connection with non-fulfillment of the commission agreement .

When providing forwarding and transport services, including freight (when importing/exporting cargo from Russia or its transit movement across Russian territory). This also includes insurance payments for these cargoes.

At specially organized auctions - transactions with external securities, the rights to which are recorded in depositories.

Transactions with external securities registered in depositories, as well as making payments for them in rubles.

When paying taxes, fees and contributions to the federal (municipal, local) budget in foreign currency.

When making payments on external securities, except for bills of exchange.

For compensation and payment of travel allowances when traveling outside Russia for business reasons, as well as when the accountable person returns part of the unspent advance. From 12/02/2019, these operations can be carried out in cash without using bank accounts in authorized banks (Law No. 398-FZ dated 12/02/2019).

To ensure the functioning of diplomatic and consular missions.

When a resident individual from Russia transfers currency in an amount not exceeding 5,000 US dollars (or in another currency at the Central Bank exchange rate) to the foreign account of another resident individual.

Transfer of foreign currency to Russia from foreign accounts of a resident individual to the accounts of other resident individuals opened with authorized banks.

To compensate for expenses and wages of employees who have left Russia, if their work involves constant travel.

When making payments between transport companies and clients abroad (individuals and representative offices of legal entities created in accordance with the federal legislation of Russia) under transportation contracts.

When transferring foreign currency by resident individuals from their accounts in authorized banks to such accounts of their close relatives and spouses.

When transferring foreign currency to bank accounts in authorized banks of diplomatic missions and consulates outside Russia and to the accounts of Russian state missions at intergovernmental institutions from accounts in authorized banks opened by state executive authorities that operate abroad through their own representative offices, to pay salaries. And also when making such transfers in the opposite direction - from the accounts of diplomatic missions and consulates.

When depositing/returning various types of collateral (clearing, collective or individual) and in the form of a contribution to the property pool.

For settlements made based on the results of clearing, as well as relationships under commission agreements, the subject of which are obligations fulfilled based on the results of clearing.

When executing/terminating derivative financial instrument contracts if one party to the contract is an authorized bank (a professional participant in the securities market).

When acquiring and alienating currency assets acting as security for the fulfillment of an obligation provided for in a repurchase agreement, an agreement that is a derivative financial instrument, and (or) an agreement of another type, concluded on the terms determined by the general agreement (single agreement), provided that one one of the parties to such an agreement is an authorized bank or a professional participant in the securities market.

ConsultantPlus experts explained in detail how foreign exchange payments and control of foreign exchange transactions are carried out. Get trial access to the K+ system and upgrade to the Ready Solution for free.

More information about what currency transactions are can be found in the article “Currency transactions: concept, types, classifications” .

Are settlements possible between resident individuals in foreign currency?

Settlements between resident individuals in foreign currency are prohibited. The exceptions are, in particular, transfers to bank accounts outside the Russian Federation with a limit on the amount, transfers from accounts in authorized banks in favor of close relatives, transfers from accounts (deposits) in banks outside the Russian Federation to accounts (deposits) in authorized banks.

Settlements on the territory of the Russian Federation are carried out in rubles. Settlements in foreign currency between resident individuals are generally prohibited (Article 140, paragraph 3 of Article 317 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

;
Part 1 Art. 9 of the Federal Law of December 10, 2003 No. 173-FZ
).

Reference. Residents of the Russian Federation For the purposes of currency regulation, residents of the Russian Federation are (clauses “a”, “b”, paragraph 6, part 1, article 1 of the Federal Law of December 10, 2003 No. 173-FZ
): • citizens of the Russian Federation; • foreign citizens and stateless persons permanently residing in the Russian Federation on the basis of a residence permit.

Resident individuals can use foreign currency in mutual settlements, in particular in the following cases (clauses 12, 13, 17, 31, part 1, article 9 of the Federal Law of December 10, 2003 No. 173-FZ

• transfer of foreign currency from the Russian Federation in favor of other resident individuals to their accounts opened in banks located outside the Russian Federation in amounts not exceeding during one business day through one authorized bank an amount equal to the equivalent of USD 5,000 at the official rate established by the Bank of Russia on the date of debiting funds from the account of a resident individual;

Reference. Authorized bank An authorized bank is a credit institution that has the right to carry out banking operations with foreign currency on the basis of a license from the Bank of Russia (Clause 8 Part 1 Article 1 of Federal Law No. 173-FZ dated December 10, 2003
)

• transfer of foreign currency to the Russian Federation from accounts (deposits) opened in banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation in favor of other resident individuals to their accounts (deposits) in authorized banks;

• transfer of foreign currency from their accounts opened in authorized banks in favor of other resident individuals who are their spouses or close relatives to the accounts of these persons opened in authorized banks or in banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation;

Reference. Family members and close relatives These are spouses, parents, children, adoptive parents, adopted children, grandfather, grandmother, grandchildren, as well as full and half (having a common father or mother) brothers and sisters (Articles 2, 14 of the RF IC
; paragraphs. 17 clause 1 article 9
of the Federal Law of December 10, 2003 No. 173-FZ
)

• transfers outside the territory of the Russian Federation between resident individuals whose total stay outside the territory of the Russian Federation during a calendar year will be more than 183 days;

• transfer of foreign currency from their accounts (deposits) opened with authorized banks, in payment for goods transferred to them, work performed for them, services provided to them, information transferred to them and results of intellectual activity, including exclusive rights to them, by individuals - residents whose total stay outside the territory of the Russian Federation during a calendar year will be more than 183 days and who carry out business activities without forming a legal entity in accordance with the legislation of the foreign state of their residence, to the accounts (deposits) of such individuals opened in banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation.

Note! For carrying out illegal currency transactions, the parties may be held administratively liable in the form of a fine in the amount of 75% to 100% of the settlement amount (Part 1 of Article 15.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

Based on materials (“Electronic magazine “ABC of Law”, 2020)

Foreign currency accounts: are there any restrictions on transactions between residents and banks?

There are no restrictions on currency transactions between residents and authorized banks if they relate to:

credit relations (payment of interest, fines and penalties, receipt/repayment of a loan);
depositing/withdrawing funds from bank accounts;
obtaining bank guarantees, fulfilling by the resident the duties of a guarantor, mortgagor;
purchasing bills of exchange issued by authorized banks, demanding payment on them upon presentation;
acquisition/sale of foreign currency and checks in exchange for Russian rubles;
payment of commissions to banks.

Residents have the right to make payments using accounts opened with authorized banks in any foreign currency. If necessary, they can carry out conversion operations at a rate agreed with banks. It does not matter in what foreign currency the account was opened.

Authorized banks, which themselves are professional participants in the securities market, can independently open and maintain their own brokerage accounts necessary for non-residents who are their clients for the purpose of accounting for funds. In addition, professional participants in the securities market themselves open special accounts in their authorized banks to record money when making brokerage transactions.

In case of violation of the conditions for carrying out currency transactions, in particular the terms for crediting funds to residents' accounts, sanctions may be applied to the offenders, the calculation of which is based on the Central Bank's refinancing rate.

Read more about this rate in the article “Information on the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation” .

Is it possible to carry out currency transactions between residents within Russia?

The bank employee, telling you that “settlements between residents within Russia in foreign currency are prohibited,” simply made an inaccurate expression when voicing the law, but he is right in the main thing - such a ban really exists.
Of course, it’s bad that you weren’t immediately warned about the problem that they thought you might have, i.e. treated the problem formally. I'll start by explaining the situation. Article 9, paragraph 1 of the Federal Law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control” dated December 10, 2003 N 173-FZ actually states that currency transactions between residents are prohibited. It is between residents and precisely the operations.

This is how it is set out in Law No. 173-FZ of December 10, 2003:

Article 9. Currency transactions between residents
Currency transactions between residents are prohibited, with the exception of: (and below are 21 points with the exceptions themselves)

I will give only two of the 21 points:

Article 9. Currency transactions between residents 1. Currency transactions between residents are prohibited, with the exception of: 1) transactions provided for in subparagraphs “g” and “h” of paragraph 9 of part 1 of Article 1, parts 2 - 4 of this article, part 6 of Article 12 and Part 3 of Article 14 of this Federal Law; 17) transfers by resident individuals of foreign currency from their accounts opened with authorized banks in favor of other resident individuals who are their spouses or close relatives (relatives in a direct ascending and descending line (parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren ), full and half (having a common father or mother) brothers and sisters, adoptive parents and adopted children), to the accounts of these persons opened in authorized banks or in banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation;

There are no separate articles, clarifications or exceptions in the law that would stipulate the inability of a resident to carry out currency transactions between his foreign currency accounts, but the law clearly stipulates the possibility of currency transfers to close relatives (as an exception) and the exceptions under Part 3 of Article 14, specified in clause 1 art.
9. The definition of “operations between residents” does not fully apply to you, and you are absolutely right in this, but there is also no other definition of this operation between the accounts of one resident in the law. There is an obvious gap or inconsistency in the wording, which you can, of course, try to clarify through the Constitutional Court, but this is a long story, and there is no one willing to do this.

Therefore, in a situation where direct transfers from abroad to Crimea are under sanctions, and even the American payment systems Visa and MasterCard operating in Russia support a sectional regime, and the law prohibits currency transfers between residents within the country, transfer currency to the Crimean account bank becomes extremely problematic.

Now let’s talk about what can be done through your bank in this situation. There is only one option for a legal solution to the problem of non-cash transfer of currency from account to account, which the bank will not be able to challenge, and it is up to you to decide how accessible and realistic it is for you.

So, currency can be transferred on the territory of Russia to a foreign currency account that will be opened by your wife (if you have one!), father or mother, brother or sister. Such an exception by law is laid down in paragraph 17 (Article 9 of the Federal Law No. 173-FZ of December 10, 2003), which may suit you, but the relationship of the resident recipient, I think, will need to be documented by the sending bank. In addition, the receiving bank must also be an authorized bank. Transfers are made without restrictions on the amount.

This is how this operation is described in the same article of Law No. 173-FZ of December 10, 2003, an excerpt from which I have already cited above:

Article 9. Currency transactions between residents
1. Currency transactions between residents are prohibited, with the exception of: 1) transactions provided for in subparagraphs “g” and “h” of paragraph 9 of part 1 of Article 1, parts 2 - 4 of this article, part 6 of Article 12 and Part 3 of Article 14 of this Federal Law; 17) transfers by resident individuals of foreign currency from their accounts opened with authorized banks in favor of other resident individuals who are their spouses or close relatives (relatives in a direct ascending and descending line (parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren ), full and half (having a common father or mother) brothers and sisters, adoptive parents and adopted children), to the accounts of these persons opened in authorized banks or in banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation;

Documents confirming the relationship of the resident recipient of a currency transfer include:

Certificates issued by civil registry authorities (marriage, birth, etc.) and a copy;
Court decisions on establishing the fact of family or kinship relationships, on adoption, on establishing paternity, etc.
Identification documents containing records of children, spouses and a notarized copy;
Certificate of change of name and other documents provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The question immediately arises: why can a resident transfer currency to his wife or parents and cannot transfer it to his own foreign currency account, only in another bank?
Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer to this question (and I don’t know what the bank is guided by). The websites of a number of large banks state that “Transfers of funds in foreign currency and the currency of the Russian Federation to their accounts in authorized banks in the territory of the Russian Federation are carried out without restrictions.” So it’s possible!? Therefore, you can try to silently fill out an application for a money transfer, transfer it to the bank’s operational unit to make the transfer and receive an official refusal with reference to the law or the transfer of funds (making a payment). To transfer your own funds in foreign currency to your own account opened in a bank located on the territory of the Russian Federation, I think you will only need to present a payment document and your passport. Well, you can also attach a certificate from the Crimean Bank stating that you have a foreign currency account indicating the details. You can also try to arrange a non-cash currency transfer from a resident’s account to a non-resident’s account, but to do this, among your close friends there must be a non-resident who permanently resides in Crimea, has a foreign currency account, and also agrees to help you. This is a problematic and undesirable option, although transfers by residents of the Russian Federation when making a payment in favor of a non-resident of the Russian Federation in foreign currency are carried out without restrictions. And such transfers may fall under financial monitoring.

In addition, in order to make a non-cash transfer in foreign currency in favor of a non-resident, an “Application for money transfer (established form) is submitted to the Bank with mandatory compliance with the following conditions:

The payment document contains a mark indicating who the recipient of the funds is - a resident or non-resident.
In the “Purpose of payment” field, information is indicated that reflects the economic essence of the transaction being carried out (financial assistance, purchase of securities, etc.). When making a type of payment that requires the submission of supporting documents, the number and date of such documents are indicated in the “payment purpose” field.

However, banks carry out money transfers from account to account of one client in foreign currency throughout Russia. Part 3 of Article 14 of the Federal Law of December 10, 2003 N 173-FZ (as amended on December 30, 2015) “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control” is suitable for this:

Article 14. Rights and obligations of residents when carrying out foreign exchange transactions 3. Payments when carrying out foreign exchange transactions are made by resident individuals through bank accounts in authorized banks, the procedure for opening and maintaining which is established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the following foreign exchange transactions carried out in accordance with with this Federal Law: 1) transfer by a resident individual of currency assets as a gift to the Russian Federation, a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and (or) a municipal entity; 2) donations of currency values to the spouse and close relatives; 3) bequeathing currency values or receiving them by right of inheritance; 4) acquisition and alienation by a resident individual for the purpose of collecting single banknotes and coins; 5) a transfer by a resident individual from the Russian Federation and receipt in the Russian Federation by a resident individual of the transfer without opening bank accounts, carried out in the manner established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which may only provide for a limitation on the amount of the transfer, as well as a postal transfer; 6) purchase from an authorized bank or sale to an authorized bank by an individual resident of cash foreign currency, exchange, replacement of banknotes of a foreign state (group of foreign states), as well as acceptance of cash foreign currency for collection to banks outside the territory of the Russian Federation; 7) settlements of resident individuals in foreign currency in duty-free shops, as well as when selling goods and providing services to resident individuals along the route of vehicles during international transport; settlements carried out by resident individuals in accordance with Part 6.1 of Article 12 of this Federal Law; 9) transfer without opening a bank account by a resident individual in favor of a non-resident on the territory of the Russian Federation, receipt by a resident individual of a transfer without opening a bank account on the territory of the Russian Federation from a non-resident, carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which may accordingly provide only limiting the amount of the transfer and the amount of receiving the transfer.

Taking into account this article, the bank should have carried out your transactions, but before using any of the above methods for transferring currency, you should once again consult with employees of both banks. Perhaps they will offer you something more acceptable. Good luck with your banking.

Is foreign currency borrowing between residents allowed?

When applying for a foreign currency loan, the lender transfers to the borrower a certain amount in foreign currency, subject to its return after a specified period. Such loans can be provided on an interest-bearing or free-of-charge basis.

Carrying out currency transactions between residents of the Russian Federation, which includes loans in foreign currency, is not allowed. However, in paragraph 1 of Art. 9 of Law No. 173-FZ provides exceptions that allow residents to receive loans in foreign currency from authorized financial institutions when drawing up relevant agreements. That is, if such a loan is taken out from a bank, there is no violation of the law.

If a loan agreement is concluded between 2 resident economic entities, it must contain only ruble amounts. If you wish to indicate them in the currency at the time of settlement, the final amount should be linked to the exchange rate according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

If a currency transaction to issue a loan is carried out between a resident and a non-resident of the Russian Federation, there are no restrictions on it.

Features of currency transactions between non-residents

In accordance with Art. 10 of Law No. 173-FZ, foreign exchange transactions between non-residents are allowed in Russia without any restrictions. Thus, non-residents can freely transfer foreign currency and Russian rubles to each other from/to bank accounts in authorized banks to/from foreign accounts. There are also no restrictions regarding making payments between non-residents without opening bank accounts, both when receiving funds from abroad and when transferring currency and rubles abroad.

Non-residents are allowed any transactions with domestic securities on the territory of Russia, subject to compliance with federal antimonopoly legislation. At the same time, non-residents must carry out currency transactions among themselves using rubles only through bank accounts opened in the Russian Federation.

For information about what taxes and contributions must be paid by non-residents on the territory of the Russian Federation, read the materials:

“Insurance premiums and taxes for non-residents”;
Personal income tax from non-residents of the Russian Federation in 2021".

Currency transactions: prohibitions and exceptions

The legal basis for prohibited and permitted transactions is laid down in Federal Law No. 173-FZ of December 10, 2003 “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control.” The rules are not without exceptions, and so it is with currency control: everything that affects gold and foreign exchange reserves or fluctuations in the ruble is prohibited.

Article 9 prohibits transactions in foreign currency between residents, but provides a number of exceptions:

Payments in supermarkets that trade without duties. As well as fees for services or products offered during international travel. Buying a glass of champagne on a plane is not prohibited.
Settlements between agents and principals for transferred goods, concluded agreements and for monitoring compliance with transactions.
Operations under transport, forwarding or chartering contracts related to the transportation of cargo to the territory of Russia, within the country and abroad.
Trading in foreign securities issued by the Russian Federation, which is carried out through the organizers of trading in the Russian securities market.
Payment of mandatory payments to the budget of the Russian Federation in foreign currency: taxes, fees, duties.

The list continues and consists of thirty items, which are described in detail in the mentioned article. In practice, it turns out that if you give a friend a couple of hundred dollars left over from your vacation, you are breaking the law.

Non-residents are not limited to carrying out the following currency transactions:

Converting foreign currency into rubles and vice versa.
You do not need to transfer and receive money outside the Russian Federation or open a bank account.
Foreign exchange transactions in rubles between non-residents in Russia are carried out through bank accounts opened in the Russian Federation.

Residents and non-residents have the right to cooperate and work with currency, without any restrictions, if they are not engaged in illegal activities: they do not sell weapons or drugs.

The procedure for making payments between residents and non-residents

In Russia there are no restrictions on currency transactions between residents and non-residents. The exception is cases where certain restrictions are established to prevent a decrease in foreign exchange reserves in Russia.

Before 2006–2007, many more such restrictions were in place. However, today there is only the restriction specified in Art. 11 of Law No. 173-FZ. In particular, transactions for the acquisition or sale of foreign currency, as well as checks in such currency, can only be carried out through banks authorized to carry out foreign exchange transactions.

In addition, the Central Bank establishes a number of requirements for financial institutions for documenting transactions with cash foreign currency. Thus, the financial regulator provides for the requirement for mandatory identification of a person buying or selling foreign currency. Personal data may be included in documents drawn up when conducting transactions with foreign cash.

All overseas transactions between residents and non-residents are subject to exchange controls. Details are in the material “Currency control when transferring money abroad” .

Results

To summarize, it can be concluded that foreign exchange transactions between residents are prohibited, except in a limited number of cases. All these exceptions are listed in Law No. 173-FZ and can only be expanded by amending this law.

As for currency transactions between residents and non-residents, as well as settlements carried out by non-residents among themselves, there are no significant restrictions for them. There are only a number of requirements for the execution of transactions.

When making transactions with foreign currency values and currencies (foreign and Russian), you will need to indicate codes for types of currency transactions, which can be found in the article “Directory of codes for types of currency transactions (2020 - 2021)” .

These requirements, as well as the procedure for execution and forms of the necessary documentation, are described in detail in the regulations issued by the federal financial regulator.

Sources: Federal Law of December 10, 2003 No. 173-FZ

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