On June 12, 2022, the 3rd Federal Court of Itajaí, in an urgent injunction, ordered the customs authority to cancel the import declaration so that the company – an operator in foreign trade – could return the goods abroad.

It turns out that the trading company, in the course of its business, imported ceramic goods without realizing that these were subject to antidumping duties.

Considering that the antidumping measures made importing extremely expensive, making it impossible to continue the business, the trading company requested the Head of the RFB (Brazilian Federal Revenue Service) in Itajaí/SC to cancel the import declaration, so that the goods could subsequently be returned abroad; however, without justification, the authority rejected the request, considering that there would be no reason for cancellation.

Therefore, the trading company sought judicial relief to obtain cancellation of the declaration on the grounds that there are no valid reasons to deny the request for cancellation of the DI, based on the wording of §3, items I and II of article 63 of IN SRF No. 680/06, which reads:

Article 63. The cancellation of a DI (Import Declaration) may be authorized by the head of the sector responsible for customs clearance based on a reasoned request from the importer, through a specific function in Siscomex, when: (Wording given by Normative Instruction RFB No. 957, of July 15, 2009)

(…)

§ 3. Cancellation of a declaration will not be authorized when:

I – if there are indications of a customs violation, until the respective investigation is concluded;

II – if the goods in question are subject to forfeiture.

Thus, the Honorable Judge observed, in summary proceedings, the plausibility of the allegations presented by the trading company and ordered the authority to proceed with the cancellation of the Import Declaration (DI), given that there was no evidence of fraud punishable by forfeiture of the cargo in the foreign trade operation.

Therefore, the need for a specialized team to provide the necessary legal support to international trade operators is demonstrated, since, on several occasions, even when operating within the law, they are surprised by arbitrary conduct that can cause enormous economic losses.

For more information, contact our team!

Decision commented on by Caio Congo, Lawyer, graduated in Law in 2020 from the Centro Universitário das Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas / SP, specializing in Customs, Tax and Economic Criminal Law. OAB/SP nº 468.332