Anvisa and Federal Revenue of Brazil sign ordinance that will facilitate import procedures

Published: 8 May 2019

On May 7, Anvisa and the Federal Revenue of Brazil signed an ordinance to implement actions to improve the procedures to importing products subjected to health regulation. As a result, adherence to the AEO-Integrated program will boost resources and reduce deadlines for compliance in import processes managed by the Agency.

The Authorized Economic Operator Program (AEO) is a trade facilitation tool under the World Customs Organization (WCO) Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade (SAFE). It is also one of the commitments of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), agreed upon at the Bali Ministerial Conference of 2013. It consists of the certification granted by Customs to operators in the international logistics chain, who demonstrate the ability to manage the risks to which they are exposed. It is important to note that adherence to the AEO Program is voluntary, and the operator must comply with established safety and compliance levels.

Reducing costs

For Anvisa's Director President, William Dib, the Agency progressed towards a new management model, and taking this step further was possible thanks to the partnership with the Federal Revenue of Brazil. "By joining the AEO, we will insert the country into the global economy, making costs in Brazil much lower and offering an attractive to further investments in our country, promoting greater economic development," said Dib.

The Special Secretary of the Federal Revenue of Brazil, Marcos Cintra Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, who also participated in the signing ceremony, emphasized that Brazil's insertion in global trade is one of the critical issues at the current moment. "We are very proud of the Program. Logically this insertion needs to be promoted within a favorable environment, and we need somehow to streamline, to facilitate the process of insertion of the country, but this step with the AEO is without a doubt paramount”, he concluded.

Brazil’s AEO Program

In Brazil, the AEO Program is regulated by the Normative Instruction (IN) RFB 1,598, dated December 9, 2015. It is aligned with the SAFE Framework of the WCO and has two certification modalities: AEO-Safety and AEO-Compliance.

AEO-Safety: aims at the certification of importers, exporters, transporters, cargo agents, airport / port operators, warehouses that store goods under customs’ control and Special Precincts for Customs Clearance of Exports (Redex), which must demonstrate the adoption of work processes capable of minimizing the risks associated with the physical safety of cargo throughout the logistic chain.

AEO-Compliance: its purpose is to verify the implementation of work processes aimed at compliance with tax and customs obligations, and to encourage the continuous control of customs operations through risk management, closely observing the standards of ISO 31000. It is divided into two levels: level 1, and level 2 only for importers / exporters.

Benefits

Those interested in becoming an Authorized Economic Operator must prove that they meet the requirements and criteria established by IN RFB 1,598/2015 to be certified. After the certification, the benefits granted are related to the facilitation of customs’ procedures, in the country or abroad, in accordance with the modality of certification, the role of the operator in the logistic chain and the degree of conformity.