On 21 September 2017, the Secretary of Foreign Commerce published in the Diário Oficial da União (Official Gazette) an announcement that the federal government is holding a public consultation on the New Import Process, as part of the Single Foreign Trade Portal Program, starting 21 September for a period of 30 days. The recast, which should be implemented by the end of 2018, will benefit more than forty thousand importers.
The proposal, built in close partnership with the private sector, aims to establish procedures that will give greater efficiency and speed to the import process, besides making feasible the most effective and effective control of operations.
The suggestions presented through the consultation will be analyzed by the team of the Single Foreign Trade Portal Program and, if pertinent, considered during the next stage of the Project.
Proposals should be sent in the format “.doc” or “.docx” for consultation@siscomex.gov.br.
The SISCOMEX trade portal website explains that one of the innovations foreseen in the New Import Process is the creation of the Single Import Declaration (Duimp), which will replace the current Import Declaration (DI) and Simplified Import Declaration (DSI).
Unlike today, Duimp can be registered even before the arrival of the merchandise in the country and, as a rule, in parallel to obtaining the import licenses. As information is provided in advance, procedures such as risk management can be advanced, ensuring faster flow of cargo.
To avoid redundancy or inconsistency in reporting, Duimp will be integrated with other public systems and will also be prepared for integration with private systems. In this way, it will no longer be necessary for the importer to access several systems.
The New Process also has benefits for importers who carry out operations subject to licensing. It will be possible, for example, to use a single license for more than one import operation, unlike currently.
In general, the main benefits for importers are:
- Centralization in a single location of the request and obtaining an import license, without the need for the operator to access other systems or fill out paper forms;
- Automatic validation between the authorized operation (in the import licensing module) and the data declared in Duimp;
- Reduction of time and bureaucracy in imports with consent;
- Flexibility of the granting of import licenses in relation to the number of operations covered;
- Reduction of the time of permanence of the goods in Primary Zone, with the consequent reduction of import costs;
- Harmonization of procedures adopted by the various organs of the Public Administration responsible for the control of imports.
The Single Foreign Trade Portal Program, the main initiative of the federal government for the de-bureaucratization and simplification of Brazilian foreign trade, has been gradually and progressively built. The New Export Process is already available and being used by private operators. As its different stages are narrow, more exporters can enjoy the benefits of the new process, whose complete implementation is expected later this year.
