According to a report broadcast on Jornal Nacional on June 24, 2019, delays in the customs clearance of imported goods and merchandise are causing enormous losses to importers, since, in the vast majority of cases, in addition to hindering the free exercise of their commercial activity, it generates a growing increase in storage expenses and... demurrage.

Therefore, companies have increasingly resorted to the Judiciary in order to secure their rights, especially the right to property and the free exercise of their economic activity.

This is because, as is well known, although the legal system has not set a deadline for the completion of the import clearance process, by analogy, the 8 (eight) day period contained in Article 4 of Decree No. 70.235/72 must be respected, counted from the day of registration of the Import Declaration, since, as stipulated in Article 545 of the Customs Regulations, the clearance process begins on the date of registration of the Import Declaration:

Decree No. 70.235/72:

Article 4. Unless otherwise provided, the employee shall execute the procedural acts. within eight days;

Decree No. 6,759/2009:

Article 545. The import clearance process is considered to have begun on the date the import declaration is registered.

In this sense, recent paradigmatic decisions.

“"According to the legal system, administrative activity must be carried out within a reasonable timeframe, which cannot be prolonged indefinitely.".
 
In casu, I understand that the deadline established by article 4 of Decree No. 70.235/1972, of 8 (eight)
days:
 
“"Article 4. Unless otherwise provided, the clerk shall execute the procedural acts within eight days."”
 
Therefore, the deadline set in the aforementioned Decree for the completion of administrative processes of this nature must be observed.
 
(…)
 
In light of the foregoing, I GRANT the requested preliminary injunction, ordering the respondent authority to proceed with the conclusion of the customs procedures mentioned in the initial petition, provided there are no pending documents.”
 
(Writ of Mandamus No. 5023627-29.2018.4.03.6100, pending before the 12th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo)
 
  “(…) In view of the above, I PARTIALLY GRANT THE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION to determine that the respondent authority carry out the dispatch and clearance of the imported goods through Import Declarations Nos. 18/1495845-4 and 18/1520355-4 within the maximum period of 08 (eight) days contained in art. 4 of Decree No. 70.235/72, which I adopt by analogy in view of the absence of a deadline specifically provided for the conclusion of import clearance in our legal system.”
 
(Writ of Mandamus No. 5023030-60.2018.4.03.6100, pending before the 4th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo)

Therefore, in these situations, the importer has no alternative but to seek assistance from the Judiciary.

Written by: Juliana Perpétuo, Lawyer, graduated in Law in 2003 from the Centro Universitário das Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas – FMU. Areas of expertise: Customs Law, Tax Law, and Criminal Law. OAB (Brazilian Bar Association): 242.614

Source: GLOBE

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