Patrick Bruha

Patrick Bruha

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

Returning Of Rejected Imports In Brazil

Patrick Bruha

Patrick Bruha

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

In some specific cases when goods are imported to Brazil, there is a need for these goods to be returned to the country of origin. In this article, we will take a closer look at how the process of returning rejected imports to Brazil works.

Overview of operation

In a previous article, we saw the main reasons why goods get stuck in the Brazilian customs. Sometimes when this happens, the imported goods can not be admitted into the country, nor can they be apprehended by the Brazilian Federal Revenue to be auctioned later at warehouse auctions. It is noteworthy to say that all bounce back operations in Brazil require previous authorization by the Brazilian Federal Revenue.

Any parties involved in the import process that intend to perform the returning of rejected imports should expose, in the application, all reasons why they are returning the cargo to the country of origin, along with all import documentation. The import documentation needed for this process is:

It is important to mention that if there are any special documents issued by a regulatory agency - such as MAPA, Anvisa or Inmetro - stating that the imported goods can not enter Brazil due to a specific reason and that they should be returned to the country of origin, this document should also be presented by the party interested in returning the rejected imports.

Authorization for the returning of rejected imports may be subject to partial or total verification of the goods to be returned, as the operation will not be authorized if the goods come to Brazil with a false packing list or any other irregularity that may subject the goods to the Loss of Cargo process. In cases where the cargo is not returned to the country of origin up to 30 days after the granting of the authorization, the Loss of Cargo process will take place.

The importer will be forced to destroy the imported goods without the due Import License, whenever those needing to have a specific Import License related to the sectors mentioned below. But, if the destruction of the goods imported without due authorization is not permitted on Brazilian land, the importer will be forced to return the goods to the country of origin. The following sectors are subject to this special regulation:

  • Environment protection
  • Health
  • Public safety
  • Metrology
  • Compliance to human, plant and/or animal health controls

In cases where the imported goods are assigned to a nonexistent - or with an unknown address in the country - individual or legal entity, the obligation to destroy or to return the goods to the country of origin will be the freighter’s.

There are different ways of returning rejected imports in Brazil, all of them are free of charge.

Returning of rejected imports before registry of the Import Declaration

The returning of rejected imports can be authorized by the head of the Customs sector where the goods first arrived in Brazil, provided that the request for this operation happens:

  • Before the registry of the Import Declaration
  • Before the Loss of Cargo procedure has been initiated
  • If the annulment of the Import Declaration was granted to the importer

Returning of rejected imports after registry of the Import Declaration

The returning of rejected imports can also be authorized after the registry of the Import Declaration, although this only happens in one specific situation: whenever the imported goods, after being cleared, are observed as malfunctioning or not fit for the purpose they were intended.

This operation is then classified as a special type of export, and is thus subject to procedures set:

  • The operation should be realized upon issuance by Secex - the Secretariat of Foreign Trade - of an Export Registry linked to the Import License
  • The malfunctioning or unfit goods imported are to be demonstrated in a technical report, provided by a third party institution, up to 30 days after the goods were cleared from customs
  • The returning of the goods to the country of origin needs to happen before the customs clearance of the equivalent goods that were sent for replacement

In some special cases of replacement, the local customs house is allowed to authorize the customs clearance of the equivalent goods before the export or destruction of the malfunctioning or unfit goods. In this case a statement of responsibility is signed with the importer, granting a period of 30 days for the importer to prove that they have exported or destroyed the malfunctioning or unfit goods.

The returning of the goods to the country of origin may also be processed based on a Simplified Export Declaration. Also, the Import Tax will not be levied on equivalent goods that were sent to Brazil for replacement of malfunctioning or unfit goods.