The National Bank of Ethiopia announced that all banks must use the Ethiopian Customs Commission’s reference price as the indicative value when approving letters of credit and other payment methods for selected imported goods, effective 27 January 2026. The move follows the central bank’s foreign exchange reforms that shifted the exchange rate to be market-determined and removed the previous minimum price directive for imports, while placing responsibility on banks to verify the accuracy of import prices. Supervisory monitoring found substantial differences between the prices banks were using for letters of credit and the Customs Commission’s reference prices, prompting the requirement to align price benchmarks and support more accurate foreign exchange information.
National Bank of Ethiopia 2026-01-25
National Bank of Ethiopia instructs banks to use Ethiopian Customs Commission reference prices for selected import letters of credit and other payments from 27 January 2026
The National Bank of Ethiopia mandates banks to use the Ethiopian Customs Commission's reference price for letters of credit and other payment methods for selected imports, effective 27 January 2026. This follows foreign exchange reforms that made the exchange rate market-determined and removed the minimum price directive for imports. The decision aims to align benchmarks after monitoring revealed discrepancies between bank-used prices and the Customs Commission's reference prices.