The Brazilian Government has updated its Customs Regulations by incorporating the use of electronic signatures and blockchain, to adapt them to recent technological advances in foreign trade systems.
This is established by the Decree No. 10.550, published on Thursday, November 25, 2020 in the Official Gazette of the Federation, whose text indicates that “The Special Secretariat of Federal Revenue of Brazil of the Ministry of Economy may provide: (…) in relation to the commercial invoice in the form of a mechanical or electronic signature, confirmation of authorship and authenticity of the document is permitted, even in the case of using blockchain.”
The decree also Expands the use of the special customs regime for industrial warehouses under computerised customs control (RECOF), by dispensing with the establishment of a minimum annual export amount for qualification under the regime. The requirement of a minimum value prevented many exporting companies from participating in the system.
Another novelty is the Regulation of the transfer of goods from the temporary admission regime to the import modality to remain in the special customs system for the export and import of goods intended for research and mining of oil and natural gas deposits (REPETRO). The amendment aims to adapt the legislation to the business model of the sector.
The changes promoted further simplify data-related requirements which must be included in the commercial invoice. From now on, other organizations involved in foreign trade must use the definitions in force in commercial operations, and not those defined by the Public Administration.
Additionally, the decree highlights the importance of the Brazilian Authorized Economic Operator Program, by providing greater security and agility to the country's foreign trade.
"These measures modernize the Customs Regulations, providing simplification, reduction of requirements, greater legal certainty and adaptation to new digital tools, allowing for the improvement of the business environment and the expansion of the competitiveness of companies operating in foreign trade," said the Undersecretary of Customs Administration, Fausto Vieira Coutinho.
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