III. IMPORTS: RULES AND PROCEDURES
III.5. Customs dispatch procedures
Customs dispatch aims to verify the accuracy of the data declared by the importer with regard to the imported goods, to the documents produced and to the existing legislation, with a view to the clearance and delivery of the goods to the importer. All merchandise originating abroad, imported on a definitive basis or not, subject or not to the payment of the Import Tax, has to be submitted to import clearance, which is made according to the declaration presented to the customs unit in control of the merchandise.
Generally, import dispatch is processed by means of the Import Declaration (DI), registered in the Integrated Foreign Trade System (Siscomex), under the terms of SRF Normative Instruction no. 680/06. However, in some situations, the importer may opt for the simplified customs procedure, which can be processed by Siscomex or by specific forms, on a case by case basis.
Before starting the import operation, the interested party must check if their capacity to use Siscomex is required and if it is valid.
Import customs expedition is basically divided into two categories: dispatch for consumption; dispatch for admission under a special customs regime or applied in special areas.
Dispatch for consumption takes place when the goods entering the country are destined for use as supplies, raw materials, production goods or intermediary products, as well as when destined for own consumption or resale. Dispatch for consumption aims, therefore, to nationalize the goods, the common import regime being applicable to this category.
The dispatch for admission under special customs regimes or applied in special areas aims to let into the country merchandise, products or goods originated abroad,
which must remain under one of the regimes listed on customs law for a fixed period, without suffering the immediate application of taxes, which are kept suspended until the regime is extinguished. Among others, it applies to merchandise under temporary admission, in which case the merchandise must leave the country after accomplishing its purpose.
Most exported or imported goods are subject to ordinary customs dispatch. In some situations, though, the interested party may opt for the simplified customs dispatch procedure.
III.5.1. Ordinary customs dispatch procedure
As a general rule, customs dispatch is processed through Siscomex, after the interested party has enabled itself to use it and has accredited their legal representatives. There are, however, exceptions depending on the nature of the goods, the operation and/ or nature of the exporter or importer, when processing customs dispatch without registration in the system is performed by means of the proper forms, which are case specific.
For the cases which article 4th of the SRF Normative Instruction no. 611/06 makes provision for – such as imports made by diplomatic representations, samples without commercial value or goods destined for humanitarian aid –, the forms for simplified import declaration (DSI-Form), which are provided for by the annexes of that normative instruction, are used.
In some situations, specific forms can also be used for the customs expedition of goods that will be subject to the Temporary Admission Special Regime, as is the case, for example, of international events taking place in Brazil.
Similarly, the customs dispatch of express shipments is performed without registration in Siscomex, as established by the RFB Normative Instruction no. 560/05, based on the import or export Declaration of Express Consignments, appearing in the annexes of that normative instruction.
Common or simplified import declarations (DI or DSI) may be used to register foreign trade operations in Siscomex, depending on the nature of the operation, the goods and/or the nature of the importer.
III.5.2. Simplified customs dispatch
The simplified customs dispatch can be processed through Siscomex in those cases referred to in article 3 of SRF Normative Instruction no. 611/06. Once the interested party has enabled itself to use SISCOMEX (see item III.2), the person will fulfill the the Simplified Import Declaration (Electronic DSI).
Operations that may be conducted by means of the electronic DSIs include: merchandise whose value is equal to or lower than US$ 3,000.00; donations; temporary admission; unaccompanied baggage; and operations not registered in Siscomex.
The simplified customs expedition may also be performed without registration in Siscomex, by means of forms for the simplified import declaration (DSI-Form), appearing in the annexes of SRF Normative Instruction no. 611/06, in the situations covered by article 4 of that norm. Operations that may be conducted by means of DSI forms include: samples without commercial value; goods whose value is equal to or lower than US$ 500.00; imports made by diplomatic representations; goods destined for humanitarian aid; and books and documents without a commercial purpose.
In some cases, specific forms may be used for the customs expedition of goods that will be subject to the Temporary Admission Special Regime, as it is the case, for example, of international events taking place in Brazil.
III.5.3. Import by proxy
An import operation by proxy is understood as the operation in which a legal person conducts, on their behalf, the import customs dispatch of goods acquired by a third party, due to a previously made contract. This contract may also include other services related to the commercial transaction, such as collecting price quotes and performing commercial intermediation.
Customs control procedures related to the actions of the importing legal person operating on behalf of third parties are regulated by SRF Normative Instruction n° 225/02.
Registration of the Import Declaration (DI) by the hired party is conditioned to their prior habilitation in Siscomex to perform as importer on behalf of the acquirer and to the time limit established by contract.
III.5.4. Import by order
An import-by-order operation is understood as that in which a legal person conducts, on their behalf, the import customs expedition of goods they acquired abroad, to be resold to a company that has placed an order with the importer, as established by a contract previously signed by them.
When an operation is paid for – fully or partially “ by the company placing the order, it is not considered a import-by-order.
Customs control procedures relating to a legal person acting in import-by-order operations are regulated by SRF Normative Instruction n° 634/06.
The registration of the Import Declaration (DI) is conditioned to prior habilitation in Siscomex, by both parties, the one who placed the order and the importer, as well as to their previous binding in the system.
III.5.5. Import Declaration - DI
The processing of import customs dispatch is based on the declaration to be presented to the customs unit in control of the goods.
The DI must contain, among other information, the identification of the importer and of the acquirer or the one placing the order, if they are not the same person, as well as the identification, classification, customs value and origin of the goods.
The DI is fulfilled by the importer or their legal representative in Siscomex, according to the type of declaration and customs dispatch applicable to the operation. Such information is divided into two groups:
• General: corresponding to the import operation;
• Specific (addition): containing data of commercial, fiscal and exchange nature on each type of goods.
The customs procedure applicable to the imported goods determines the type of declaration to be fulfilled by the importer.
The act that determines the start of import customs dispatch is the registration of the DI in Siscomex, except in the cases of Advanced Dispatch. At the moment of the registration, the payment of all federal taxes levied on the import is made.
The documents that provide the basic information contained in the DI are:
• Original copy of the bill of lading or equivalent document;
• Original copy of the commercial invoice, signed by the exporter;
• Packing list, when applicable; and
• Others, required in consequence of international agreements or specific law. The documents that accompany the DI must be handed to SRF supervision whenever required and, therefore, the importer should keep them for the period provided for by law, which may vary from case to case (but it never is less than five years).
If the import dispatch, in one of these types, is not initiated within the periods established by law, which may vary from 45 to 90 days upon the arrival of the merchandise in the country, it is considered abandoned. This implies confiscation of the merchandise and other legal consequences foreseen by the law. The same will happen to the merchandise which import expedition is interrupted in its course for sixty days, due to an action or omission on the part of the importer.
III.5.6. Parameterization (green, yellow, red and grey channels)
Once the Import Declaration has been registered and the customs expedition procedures have been initiated, the DI undergoes fiscal analysis and is selected for one of the verification channels. Such selection procedure is called parameterization. There are four verification channels: green, yellow, red and grey.An import selected for the green channel is cleared automatically without any verification. The yellow channel means the instruction documents for the DI are checked as well as the information appearing in the declaration. In the case of selection for the red channel, there is, in addition to document verification, the physical verification of the goods. Finally, when the DI is selected for the grey channel, a document examination is performed, in addition to the physical verification of the goods and a special customs control procedure is applied in order to verify elements that indicate fraud, including the price declared for the merchandise.
Customs dispatch ends in customs clearance, in which the conclusion of customs dispatch procedures is recorded. It is after customs clearance that the effective delivery of the goods to the importer is authorized.