The Foreign Trade Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy (Secex/ME) opened a public consultation on August 19th regarding changes to procedures for import licensing of products entering the country with tax benefits and used goods.
The proposed regulatory change, determined by Secex Ordinance No. 47, It will be available for comments from those interested in the topic for a period of 60 days.
One of the suggested modifications refers to the convergence of the requirements for proving domestic production of equivalent goods, used for the purpose of granting Ex-Tariff status, with those adopted for similarity examination or the determination of domestic production for the importation of used goods.
It is important to highlight that in the importation of products subject to similarity examination, the importer requests the enjoyment of tax benefits defined by law – namely, generally, exemption from or reduction of import tax. In this situation, the analysis for granting the import license by the Secex (Secretariat of Foreign Trade) is carried out in two stages, observing, firstly, the verification of the existence of national production and, subsequently, the comparison of the item to be imported with the national product in relation to the criteria of price, delivery time and quality.
Node import licensing Involving used machinery, equipment, apparatus, and instruments, there is a requirement similar to that described for products subject to similarity examination, with the difference that the assessment of local production is carried out in only one stage, not including a comparison between prices, delivery times, and qualities.
The intention is to harmonize similar legislation and grant greater predictability and legal certainty to Brazilian importers, an extremely healthy and welcome goal for the sector.
Another set of proposed changes relates to import licensing for used production lines, which constitute productive investments for the Brazilian economy, linked to projects of national interest.
Import licensing in these cases is exempt from the requirement to verify national production, but currently depends on an agreement between the importer-investor of the production line and the national producers, as well as the review of the agreement by a national industry representative body.
According to data collected by Secex, from 2016 to 2019, 96 requests were submitted for the transfer of used production lines to Brazil, totaling US$$ 58.9 million in imports and generating 3,597 jobs in the country.
Recognizing that projects transferring these goods to Brazil can provide productivity gains for the national economy and thus generate income and employment in the country, and considering the need to adopt measures for economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, the regulatory changes presented aim to reduce the burden, simplify, and expedite the import procedure for this type of operation.
Suggestions can be sent to the following email address: sufac@mdic.gov.br in editable spreadsheet format, containing device identification, draft text, proposed wording, technical and legal justification, and proposer data.
Source: Siscomex
News commented on by Laura Ivasco, Specialist Lawyer, OAB: 312.237, Graduated in 2010 from Anhanguera University/SP, Area of expertise: Customs Law, Foreign Trade.
