When it is noted that the concept of merchandise does not only come from a tangible thing, but its opposite; this presupposes that there is a variation of merchandise that can be subject to entry and/or exit from or to the customs territory.
The Customs Code "Law 22.415 and its reform Law 25.063" provides in its article 10, that for the purposes of this Code, merchandise is any object that is susceptible to being imported or exported; clarifying that the following are considered equally as if they were merchandise: a) rentals and provision of services carried out abroad, whose use or effective exploitation is carried out in the country, excluding any service that is not supplied under commercial conditions or in competition with one or more service providers; b) copyrights and intellectual property rights.
It is clear then that there are goods today that several decades ago were not presented in the world as being the object of transactions in the international market for import or export purposes. Likewise, there are many of these goods that today can be seen with the possibility of being imported and/or exported via the Internet.
This new experience that has revolutionized societies and their economies shows that from a customs perspective, there may be the case of imports and exports whose goods are introduced or extracted via the Internet. Therefore, a space must be given in the norm to this means of transport, which produces the interaction between millions of ports that interact with each other, importing and exporting goods as well. In this sense, it is inevitable to recognize that the Internet is a means of transport, just as is the water, land or air route.
In view of this, it is suggested that it be regulated to facilitate the declaration mechanism of the users of these means and to Customs itself to grant it greater control over imports/exports whose goods may enter and/or leave through this new route.
The intention here is not to delve into the regulation and/or control of the Internet mechanism; perhaps that is still a long way off; however, in terms of customs, it is appropriate and possible to regulate its use, establishing this route as a means of entry and/or exit of goods. That is, to incorporate this route of entry, just as the other ones regulated in the Customs Code and to establish, through the computer system – Maria or another – the possibility of declaring the option of this transport route.
This is something that is currently almost urgent, so that taxpayers, without prejudice to the use that can be given to such equipment; whether private, commercial or industrial, can each have the certain possibility of using this source of income.
It is important to clarify that the purpose of the use of imported or exported merchandise is related to the regime in which the declaration must be made, but in no way attempts to limit the entry route chosen by the importer/exporter for its transfer.
By the way, Brazil has recently made official the Electronic Declaration System for Travelers' Goods (DBV). Through this system, the Brazilian Customs allows international travelers to make a sworn declaration of the items that will be brought in or out via the Internet, using any means – tablets, smartphones, computers – and upon arrival, Customs itself will exercise control over such declaration, which it already has in its possession.
The Brazilian Treasury uses the advantages of the Internet system to enable quick declarations, streamlining the system for travelers and the control itself. The Internet is not limited to facilitating the transmission of information only, as it provides the possibility of being a means of entry or exit of goods. This is why it is important for the legislator to introduce this method as one of the other methods that the law provides for imports and exports.
There is no reason to limit a taxpayer in his claim to exercise the import and/or export declaration, using the Internet route to transport the product and discarding the other aquatic-terrestrial area routes.
Importing goods via the Internet must presuppose moving away from the premise of customs control, since it will be the Customs who, after declaration and control, grant the visa to certify the proper nationalization of the product imported via the Internet. This would enable the holder to have a product with free circulation in the customs territory before any eventual control that may be suffered in its use, whether for private purposes, as allowed by the baggage regime - courier - or for commercial or industrial purposes; both by nationalizing through the system of declaration of definitive import destinations or those of a suspensive nature, if it is entered with the intention of being subjected to a productive system for export purposes.
The Internet has generated great changes in the world, the controlling entities have known how to receive and take advantage of them in everything related to communication - see recently AFIP General Resolution No. 3474/2013 published in Official Gazette No. 32.615; but in this case its customs treatment is suggested, as another way of entry or exit of goods. Hence the need for its incorporation into the norm in such terms.
To this end, a legislative process has been initiated in the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation, which seeks to reform the Customs Code "law 22.415" to incorporate the Internet as a means of transport as equal as water, air and land.
The author is a lawyer and member of the Institute of Customs Law and International Trade of the Argentine Association of Constitutional Justice.
