Czech Republic - Foreign Exchange ControlsCzech Republic - Foreign Exchange
The Czech crown (CZK) is fully convertible and there are no foreign exchange controls affecting trade in goods. Companies operating in the Czech Republic have free access to foreign currency and there has been no failure by the banking system to provide hard currency on demand. Profits can be repatriated by law including through bonds and securities. Under the terms of its EU Accession, the Czech Republic is required to adopt the euro (EUR) although the government has no fixed date for euro adoption. Between November 2013 and April 2017, the Czech National Bank (CNB) set an upper limit for the Czech crown of CZK 27/EUR and intervened in the foreign exchange markets to prevent further crown appreciation. The rationale for the currency cap was to prevent deflation. On April 6, 2017, the CNB removed the currency cap as the risk of deflation subsided and inflation appeared at or near the Bank’s two percent target (with a range of +/- one percentage point). The CNB has projected an average inflation rate of 1.7 percent for the first quarter of 2019. The average year-on-year inflation rate in 2017 was 2.5 percent.