To address the effects that the spread of the Coronavirus in China is having on foreign trade and has led to an international health emergency, the Ministry of Finance and the National Customs Service of Chile have implemented a series of facilitation measures aimed at importers and exporters.
As a result of the contingency, various situations may arise in the import or export processes, from delays in the arrival of documents, modification of operations, and others.
Specific actions for companies that ship to China include not generating sanctioning procedures, fines or surcharges when modifying the departure documents (DUS) or redirecting shipments to destinations other than those originally declared to Customs.
For imports, the measures adopted include flexibility or simplification in the presentation of documents supporting the entry of goods into the country, to avoid delays and granting reasonable deadlines to attach pending paperwork.
The National Director of Customs, José Ignacio Palma, explained “An instruction was sent to Customs throughout the country for the implementation of these exceptional measures. The objective is to avoid, within the scope of our Service's competence, the initiation of proceedings for regulatory violations that would be applicable in a regular situation, providing the greatest facilities according to the cases that arise.".
He added that "It must be proven that the reason for the modifications or lack of documents is effectively due to problems caused by this international emergency, considering that these are reasons of force majeure.".
These measures have already been communicated to foreign trade operators, especially to Customs Agents grouped in the Customs Chamber and the National Association of Customs Agents (Anagena).
The actions taken by the National Customs Service are in the context of the public-private meeting convened by the Ministry of Finance and other State secretariats to analyze the situation of Chilean exports following the outbreak of Coronavirus in China, renamed as Covid-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In this inter-institutional working group, technical measures are being coordinated with other services involved in foreign trade processes, Prochile, the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and Sernapesca.
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