By Resolution 32 / 2024, the National Government has decided to make a series of modifications to the temporary import process for goods whose purpose is subject to a transformation process.
In this way, the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce established reformulations for the procedure, the technical opinion, the validity and the determined deadlines in order to obtain the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT).
Here's a rundown of the changes:
Temporary Importation Classification Certificate
?Initial procedure
Your application must be submitted through the Remote Procedures (TAD) web platform.
Based on such request and in the management system, the Affidavit of Input-Product Relationship must be generated, according to Annex I (IF-2024-30470499-APN-DEX#MEC).
At the time of creating the Electronic File through the Remote Procedures (TAD) web platform, the user must submit a Note as a Sworn Declaration, in accordance with Annex II (IF-2024-32352156-APN-DEX#MEC) which is part of this resolution, where he/she declares complementary data related to the operation and the option chosen for the presentation of the technical opinion in accordance with sections a) and b) of Article 15 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments.
Users of the system will not be able to make changes to the input-output sworn declarations during their processing, except when the authority so requires in order to correct any inconsistency or observation detected. For these purposes, the user will be notified through the Remote Procedures (TAD) web platform.
The user will have ten (10) administrative business days to respond to the request made. In the event of silence, the authority will resend the request, and the user will have ten (10) administrative business days to respond. In the event of further silence, the authority will consider the procedure to have been withdrawn and will proceed to send the Electronic File created through the Remote Procedures (TAD) web platform to “Temporary Storage” for later archiving.
Likewise, it is expressly established that all documentation, data and any other information provided by users will be considered as a sworn statement. The inaccuracy, falsehood or omission, of an essential nature, of any data or information that is incorporated therein or the non-presentation that is required in its case to prove compliance with the declaration, may give rise to the provisions of Article 110 of the Regulation of Administrative Procedures, Decree No. 1.759/72 – TO 2017.
?Authority and Review
The Export Directorate of the National Directorate of Foreign Trade Management of the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade of the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce of the Ministry of Economy) is the reviewing authority.
It will be responsible for verifying that the tariff items of the Common Nomenclature of MERCOSUR (NCM), both for inputs and products, correspond to the technical descriptions declared therein.
Once the verifications have been carried out, the National Directorate of External Trade Management will issue the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT), in accordance with Annex III (IF-2024-30489468-APN-DEX#MEC).
Extension of deadlines
Taking into account the provisions of article 8 of Decree 1330/2004, with regard to the possibility of extending deadlines for compliance with exports, it has been established that the Application Authority may authorize, by means of a reasoned decision, a special deadline in the following cases:
10 years
When the imported merchandise under the conditions established by the temporary import regime must be exported in compliance with a delivery and/or long-term program, for a duration coinciding with the period contemplated in the respective contractual clauses, an extended period may be granted, which may not be greater than ten years.
25 years
Exceptionally, and provided that the period to be requested coincides with the respective contractual clauses, the period may be authorized for a maximum period of twenty-five (25) years, when it responds to at least one of the assumptions detailed below:
I. When the contracting party is a State or public law entity.
II. When the contracting modality responds to an international public tender.
III. When the final beneficiary of the contract is a State or a State entity.
In any of the cases described, the user must present supporting documentation.
720 days
When the characteristics of the production process of the sector justify it, a period of up to seven hundred and twenty days may be granted with the possibility of extension for the same period.
?Request from a party
For these purposes, the interested party must present supporting documentation that proves the contractual terms, as well as declare the Temporary Import Suspension Destinations (DSIT) involved before the application authority, who will evaluate, among other aspects that it deems relevant, the characteristics and complexity of the production process to be used.
When requesting an extension of the term, the user must submit a sworn statement stating the terms and stages of the production process that justify the granting of the special term, with the supporting documentation that he or she considers relevant.
The Enforcement Authority will evaluate, among other aspects it deems relevant, the characteristics and complexity of the production process and the estimated timeframes that they entail. Once the points invoked by the interested party have been verified, it will issue a resolution establishing the new export period that will govern the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate(s) (CTIT) related to that production process. Said period may not exceed that provided for in Article 7 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments.
The Export Directorate will notify the petitioner and the General Directorate of Customs of the decision taken.
?Validity of these new measures
The resolution of these measures will be applicable to Temporary Import Suspension Destinations (DSIT) carried out after the entry into force of this measure, regardless of the date of issue of the respective Temporary Import Classification Certificate (CTIT). For these destinations, the extensions provided for in Articles 9 and 11 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments may be requested.
?Special period for particular situations
In the event of a catastrophic natural disaster, civil or international war, declared or not, revolution, uprising, confiscation, expropriation, prohibition or restriction on imports in the country of destination, cancellation not attributable to the buyer, declared agricultural emergency or fire or other reasons of force majeure, the General Directorate of Customs shall grant an extension of the term contemplated in this decree, for a single period of up to three hundred and sixty days. The extension of the term shall be subject to the express prior authorization of the Secretariat of Commerce.
For these purposes, the interested party must complete a Sworn Declaration on the Remote Procedures Platform (TAD), up to one day before the expiration of the Temporary Import Suspension Destination (DSIT).
The Export Directorate may request the information it deems appropriate in order to prove the reason invoked. It will also attach the certificate from the Malvinas Information System (SIM) in order to reflect the status of the merchandise subject to the request.
In accordance with this request, the Export Directorate will issue the authorization for the extension of the term or reject it in the absence of the reasons invoked.
Such decision will be notified to the interested party and to the General Directorate of Customs, so that the aforementioned General Directorate may proceed as appropriate.
Transfer of goods
?Transfer of merchandise prior to its improvement
The total or partial transfer of temporarily imported merchandise, prior to its industrial perfection, may be authorized for one time only, when the importer reliably proves the impossibility of fulfilling the commitments assumed under this regime, under the conditions established by this Secretariat.
For these purposes, it is established that, In order to obtain authorization for the total or partial transfer of the temporarily imported merchandise, prior to its industrial perfection, the user must submit a Sworn Declaration through the Remote Procedures Platform (TAD), explaining the impossibility of complying with the commitments assumed in a timely manner and, at the same time, accompany the following documentation:
a) Report detailing the characteristics of the transfer operation with the identification of the transferee and the reasons that support it, individualization of the merchandise to be transferred, Temporary Import Suspension Destination (DSIT) and the Temporary Import Classification Certificate(s) (CTIT), related to the operation.
b) Report from the transferee detailing the technical description of the production process, individualization of the merchandise to be transferred and the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) related to the operation.
The Export Directorate will authorize the transfer of temporarily imported goods, notifying users and the General Directorate of Customs of such circumstance.
?Obligations of the transferee (new owner of the goods)
The transferee of the transferred goods must manage a new Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT), in accordance with Article 15 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments.
?Deadlines for transfer
In no case will the aforementioned authorization imply a modification of the terms that have been granted for the completion of the export for consumption of the merchandise resulting from the industrial improvement process, in accordance with Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments.
?Transfer after improvement
In cases of transfer of imported merchandise after industrial improvement, as established in article 1622/2007 of Decree, the transferor must submit through the Remote Procedures Platform:
a) Affidavit requesting the transfer of product.
b) The Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) of the transferee, which must contain among the inputs the transferred product that is incorporated into, or within, or containing the merchandise to be exported.
c) The express consent of the transferee to carry out the transfer by means of a note signed by a legal representative or attorney.
?Review and approval
The National Directorate of External Trade Management may approve the application, as well as request any other documentation and information it deems necessary for its evaluation.
The transfer approval will be granted only once and will remain valid, provided that there are no changes in the input-product relationship of the Temporary Importation Classification Certificates (CTIT) of the transferor and the transferee.
In no case will the aforementioned approval imply a modification of the deadlines that have been granted for the completion of the export for consumption of the merchandise resulting from the industrial improvement process, in accordance with Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments.
?Obligations
The responsibility for compliance with the Temporary Import Regime established by Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments will continue to be the responsibility of the importer.
?Deadlines for export
In cases where the transfer has been authorized, the extension of the deadlines for the definitive export for consumption of the temporarily imported merchandise, as provided for in Article 9 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and the extension of the deadline in the terms of Article 11 of the same decree, must be requested by the transferor of the merchandise.
Technical Opinion
In order to obtain the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT), beneficiaries must present a technical opinion in accordance with the industrial improvement process with the requirements established by said authority corresponding to the classification requested.
?Those responsible for issuing the technical opinion
Based on this, it is established that the technical opinion must be managed by the user. It may be issued by:
a) National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI).
b) Specialized National Universities.
c) Registered engineer.
In cases a) and b), the presentation of said technical opinion will be through the management system, by the agents or officials that said institutions have previously authorized for such purposes. Access will be through the users generated as a result.
In case c), the presentation of the opinion will be carried out directly by the intervening professional, who must access the Remote Procedures Platform (TAD), with his/her CUIT and Tax Code.
?Breach
In the event that the assumptions of non-compliance provided for in section II, point b) of Article 15 and points a) and b) of Article 15 bis, both of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments, are verified, the Export Directorate, or the one that replaces it in the future, will notify the General Directorate of Customs through the Electronic Document Management system (GDE) of the cancellation of the offending Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT), in order for it to proceed to apply and collect the fines provided for therein, in its capacity as Supervisory Authority.
?Requirements of the Technical Opinion
The technical opinion, whose model forms an integral part of this measure as Annex IV (IF-2024-30471390-APN-DEX#MEC), must in all cases contemplate at least the following points:
a) User data: company name, CUIT, number of the application for the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) evaluated and place of inspection.
b) In the case of a registered engineer, the following must be included: name of the engineer, CUIT, registration number and College where he/she is registered. In the case of INTI or National Universities, the name of the technical body and the full name of the assessing inspector must be included.
c) Production process: the opinion must determine whether the process to be evaluated involves transformation, production, combination, mixing, rehabilitation, fractionation, assembly or incorporation of devices or sets of devices that provide technological and/or functional improvement, as well as those processes that due to their characteristics do not distort the purpose of the regime.
d) Details of the different stages that make up the aforementioned process, indicating the moment in which the losses and/or waste are generated as appropriate.
e) Inputs and Products: description of each of the inputs and products declared by the company, taking into consideration the following aspects:
I. They may include technical characteristics, such as dimensions, weight, volume, materiality, color, functionality or any other characteristic that makes it distinguishable.
II. No more than one input/product identical to another will be accepted, and each of them must be clearly distinguishable from each other.
III. Only words in Spanish will be accepted.
IV. Only those units of measurement contemplated by the Argentine Legal Metric System (SIMELA) will be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 19.511 and its amendments, with the exception of enzymatic units. If any other unit of measurement arises that the evaluating technical body considers appropriate to recognize, the Application Authority may, at the suggestion of the former, incorporate it.
V. Abbreviations will not be accepted, except those established by the Argentine Legal Metric System (SIMELA).
VI. Trademarks or internal references or codes of the applicant, if they wish to be incorporated into the description, must be placed in parentheses after the technical descriptions referred to in section I of this article. They shall not constitute a valid element of differentiation.
f) The expert must analyze whether the inputs declared by the user constitute substitutes, confirming what was declared by the applicant. Even if the user had not declared them as such, and the expert detects this condition, he must clarify it expressly in his technical opinion.
g) Expressly ratify or rectify the input-output relationships declared by the applicant, with their respective reductions and/or losses.
h) Conclusion of the assessment: description of the observations that the assessor considers pertinent as a result of the inspection carried out, advising whether or not to issue the corresponding Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT). In the event of observations and/or corrections being noted, the aforementioned Certificate will be issued with the corresponding modifications.
Validity and replacement of the CTIT
?Validity period
This instrument will remain valid for a period of ten (10) years from its loading in the Malvina Computer System (SIM), or the one that replaces it in the future, as long as the declared input-product relationship is not modified. After said period, the expiration will operate automatically, in which case the beneficiary must process its renewal between twenty (20) and ninety (90) calendar days prior to its expiration. To this end, the user must comply with the obligation to submit the Technical Opinion in the terms of section a) of Article 15 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments. Once the application has been initiated, the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) will remain valid until the subscription of the new certificate, then proceeding to register the cancellation of the expired certificate in the Malvina Computer System (SIM).
?Cancellation and replacement
In the following cases, the National Directorate of Foreign Trade Management may cancel and replace a valid Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT).
a) Ex officio or at the request of a party, when it is necessary to modify data that does not alter the production process, the input-product relationship, losses and/or losses of inputs or products, without the need to request the technical opinion established in Article 15 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments. The Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) that cancels and replaces the previous one will continue with the term of validity of the one that it cancels.
b) At the request of a party, when there are changes in the production process, in the input-output relationship, in the losses and/or waste, inputs and/or products, in which case a new technical opinion will be required to validate said circumstance. The Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) that cancels and replaces the previous one, will have the validity provided for in Article 10 of this measure, starting from its upload in the Malvinas Computer System (SIM).
Difference in BP and effects
When the tariff heading of the Common Nomenclature of MERCOSUR (NCM) of the product to be classified in the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) differs from the heading by which the merchandise may be exported, because it contains another product, the user may declare either of them. This assumption will apply, among others, in the case of classification of packaging, the exported merchandise being any product contained in it.
Final import destination
When the temporarily imported merchandise has not met the conditions established by Article 1 of Decree 1330/2004, the interested party will request from the General Directorate of Customs the authorization to import the merchandise for consumption, in accordance with the conditions established.
For these purposes, it is provided that all prior interventions, licenses, quotas, controls, authorizations and other requirements and regulations that may be required in the general import regime will also be applicable at the time of registration of applications for import destination for consumption whose authorizations are requested.
In such cases, if the aforementioned conditions are not met, the authorization for Import Destination for Consumption cannot be granted, and the export for consumption of the goods involved will be mandatory and without exception.
Random audits
Taking into account the powers held by the authorities in accordance with article 33 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments, the Implementing Authority may carry out random audits of the information declared in the Temporary Importation Classification Certificates (CTIT) issued and their procedures.
For the purposes of the provisions, the National Directorate of Foreign Trade Management will establish the applicable mechanism for determining them.
Audit process
Random audits will be carried out at the inspection site, detailed in the technical report in accordance with the provisions of section a) of Article 13 of this measure.
For the purposes of verifying the declared information, in accordance with Article 33 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments, it is established that the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) must include the tariff item of the Common Nomenclature of Mercosur (NCM) and a complete description of the product, both of the inputs and the products, as well as primarily, the input-product relationship. Any additional content will be considered for informational purposes.
?Notification to the User
The user who is selected to carry out the random audit will be notified by Note that can be completed through the Remote Procedures (TAD) web platform or at the legal address indicated in the Note as a Sworn Declaration of Annex II, having to coordinate with the Application Authority, place and date for its completion, within a maximum period of TEN (10) administrative business days.
In the event that the user remains silent regarding the notification sent, the Enforcement Authority will proceed to set the date on which the audit will be carried out, at the inspection site detailed in the technical report in accordance with the provisions of section a) of Article 13 of this resolution, notifying the user in accordance with the means provided above.
?Assistance from other entities
The Implementing Authority may request assistance from other National State agencies or enter into agreements with official bodies with technical knowledge, according to the characteristics of the productive sector in question, in order to carry out the audit, regulated in this measure, in accordance with the provisions of Article 34 of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments.
?Result and effects
When discrepancies are noted with the production process described in the technical report submitted for the issuance of the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT), a report will be drawn up that must be signed by the officials involved and the representatives of the audited user.
?Suspension and Discharge
The alleged violation will be notified in the aforementioned report, and the alleged offender will have a period of ten (10) administrative business days to present his defense.
During the processing of this procedure, the Export Directorate may suspend the use of the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) in question.
The alleged offender may request an extension of the deadline, detailing the circumstances that justify it, which will be resolved by the Export Directorate. If the defense is not submitted within the specified period, the decision will be made based on the elements in the administrative proceedings.
All documentation supporting the claim must be included with the discharge.
?Litigation, Arbitration
The Export Directorate must, through a report, consider the documentation and arguments presented in said discharge, and may reject it if the reasons given do not justify non-compliance.
Once the analysis has been completed, or in the event that the discharge has not been submitted, after the corresponding period has elapsed, the Application Authority will issue the relevant administrative act.
?Sanctions
If non-compliance is proven, the Enforcement Authority will apply the following sanctions, as appropriate:
a) In the event that the offender has used the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) that is the subject of the audit, he/she will be excluded from the regime for a period of ONE (1) year, counted from the notification of the administrative act, and the fines provided for in paragraphs a) and/or b) of Article 15 bis of Decree No. 1.330/04 and its amendments will be applied, as appropriate.
b) In the event that the offender has not used the Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) subject to the audit, the offender will be excluded from the regime for a period of ONE (1) year, counted from the notification of the administrative act.
The Temporary Importation Classification Certificate (CTIT) that was the subject of the audit process will be annulled and the applications initiated by the offender, which are in process, will be cancelled.
Consequently, the Export Directorate will notify the General Directorate of Customs of the sanction applied in order to proceed with what concerns its powers.
?Effects of Technical Opinion issued by Engineer
In the event that the technical report was issued by a registered engineer, the Export Directorate must, if applicable, notify the Professional Association informed by the registered engineer in the technical report submitted of the discrepancy detected, in accordance with the requirements of section b) Article 13 of this measure, so that they can proceed with the corresponding administrative actions.
Validity and scope of these measures (Resolution 32/2024)
This resolution comes into force from the day May 09th 2024.
Its scope covers for all requests of Temporary Import Certificates (CTIT) initiated in accordance with the provisions of Resolution No. 811 dated November 17, 2021 of the former Secretary of Industry, Knowledge Economy and Foreign Trade Management of the former Ministry of Productive Development and its amendments. Those applications initiated and that, on the date of entry into force of this measure, are in the corresponding Technical Body for its technical opinion, will be considered re-directed to the provisions of this resolution.
Repealed regulations
Resolutions No. 811/21 and No. 171/22 are hereby repealed.
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