Laura Ivasco – Lawyer, OAB/SP No. 312.237. Graduated in Foreign Trade in 2004 from UNIBERO/SP and in Law in 2010 from Anhanguera/SP. Area of expertise: Foreign Trade Management / Customs Law. Postgraduate degree in Civil Procedural Law (Mackenzie/SP). Member of the Customs Law and Women Lawyers Commission of the OAB/SP.
With the advent of Law No. 12,846/2013, known as the "Anti-Corruption Law," our country formally addressed not only an internal outcry but also a global demand to combat harmful practices that undermine national and foreign public administration, establishing measures to combat corruption. Among these, the so-called integrity or compliance programs have gained significant traction. These programs consist of a set of internal mechanisms and procedures for integrity, auditing, and encouraging the reporting of irregularities, as well as the effective application of codes of ethics and conduct, policies, and guidelines aimed at detecting and remedying deviations, fraud, irregularities, and illicit acts committed against national or foreign public administration, as stipulated in Article 41 of Decree No. 8,420 of March 18, 2015.
This set of practices aimed at excellence and integrity in operations, within the scope of foreign trade, is of particular importance, since, considering the process of globalization, technological advancement and the fluidity of communication, a growing flow of goods between countries has been observed in recent years – a beneficial consequence of the confluence of all these aspects and which places foreign trade in a prominent position in the world economy; however, the negative implications of the opening and flow of products and people between nations cannot be overlooked.
With the aim of banning or at least minimizing harmful practices infiltrated into foreign trade operations, customs agencies worldwide have initiated a movement to establish trust programs between countries and for operators, facilitating their work and offering competitive advantages to those who propose to join the program.
This understanding arrived in our country in 2014 in the form of the Authorized Economic Operator of the Federal Revenue Service, whose purpose is to provide greater agility and predictability in the flow of foreign trade and which has been improving every day.
The certification, which can be obtained by small, medium and large importers, exporters, transporters, freight forwarders, warehouse operators, port or airport operators, customs brokers and special export customs clearance facilities, is an essential tool for standing out in the national and international market.
Obtaining the AEO certification means that the stakeholder is committed to globally recognized ideals of excellence and has met the stringent criteria of safety, reliability, standardization, commitment, tax compliance, and financial capacity required in the integration process, which is reviewed every 3 (three) years, extendable for another 2 (two) years if an increase in the degree of safety or compliance of the AEO is found in relation to its situation at the time of certification or the last review.
In practical terms, by obtaining OEA Level 2 Compliance certification, the importer begins to enjoy specific advantages that place them at the forefront of the sector, such as a reduction in the percentage of import channels, immediate parameterization of import declarations (DIs), priority verification of DIs, dispatch on water (which consists of permission to register the DI before the cargo arrives in the customs territory via waterway, with immediate parameterized selection), and the green channel in Temporary Admission.
In times when compliance is the order of the day and competitiveness is becoming increasingly fierce, the trend observed in the market is to combine objective commercial differentiators that can bring profitability with ethical practices, recognized by the Authority, establishing a public-private partnership in the pursuit of excellence in foreign trade operations undertaken by Brazilian companies.
