WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/1/BRA/2/Rev.1 
G/LIC/N/2/BRA/2/Rev.1 
G/LIC/N/3/BRA/4/Rev.1 
2 June 2005 
 
 (05-2259) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
 
 
 
AGREEMENT ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES 
 
Notification under Articles 1.4(a), 8.2(b), 5 and 7.3 of the Agreement  
 
BRAZIL 
 
Revision  
 
 The following communication, dated 1 June 2005,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Brazil. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
Notification under Article 5 
 
(a) List of products subject to import licensing  
  As a rule, import licensing is not required.  Th e list of products subject to import licensing is 
available on the webpage of the Ministry of  Development, Industry and Foreign Trade 
(www.desenvolvimento.gov.br) and also on the Inte grated Foreign Trade System (SISCOMEX).  
  Nonetheless, whenever import licensing is re quested, application for both automatic import 
licensing and non-automatic import licensing may be done by means of the SISCOMEX.   
(b) Contact point for information on eligibility
 
  Contact must be made with the Departme nt of Foreign Trade Operations (DECEX), 
subordinated to the Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX ) of the Ministry of Development, Industry and 
Foreign Trade (MDIC), in the following addresses:  
- Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco J, 8
o andar- Brasília (DF), Brazil 
- Praça Pio X, número 54, Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil.  
 Information may also be obtained directly th rough the SISCOMEX, which is operated by the 
Foreign Trade Secretariat. 
 
(c) Administrative bodies for submission of applications
 
  Applications must be submitted to the Departme nt of Foreign Trade Operations.  It is worth 
mentioning that since 1997, when SISCOMEX was im plemented, the importer is able to access and 
register import licenses directly from his/her enterprise, or by means of authorized banks, specialized 
companies, entities and firms which deal with the cited system. 
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(d) Date and name of publication where import licensing procedures are published 
 
 - Ministerial Act SECEX No 09 of 27 July 2004, published in the Official Gazette; 29 July 2004, 
whose article 1(a) was revoked by Minister ial Act SECEX No 15 of 17 November 2004, 
published in the Official Gazette; 23 November 2004 and article 1(b) was revoked by Ministerial 
Act SECEX No 14 of 17 October 2004, publishe d in the Official Gazette; 21 November 
2004Ministerial Act SECEX No 14 of 17 Octobe r 2004, published in the Official Gazette; 
21 November 2004. 
- Ministerial Act SECEX No 15 of 17 November  2004, published in the Official Gazette; 
23 November 2004. 
 
 Note: Automatic consolidation of all Mini sterial Acts related to imports - entitled 
"Consolidation of Ministerial Acts SECEX (impor tation)" - is available on the above-mentioned web 
page.  
 
(e) Indication on whether the procedure is automatic or non-automatic
 
  Indication is available in the Ministerial Act SECEX No 14/2004 and on the web page of the 
Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.  Currently, there are two modalities of 
licensing. 
 
(f) Administrative purpose of automatic licensing procedures
 
  The information obtained by SISCOMEX is u sed for statistic monitoring, follow-up of the 
trade flows related to drawback operations, which in volve legal suspension of taxes or some products 
of interest to the Foreign Trade policy.  
(g) Indication of the measure being implemen ted through the non-automatic licensing procedure
 
  According to the current legislation, whic h are mentioned in the most recent Brazilian 
notifications under articles 1.4(a) and 8.2(b), the following are examples of products whose 
importation is subject to the control of governmental bodies:  
- products which may pose risks to human, animal or plant health; 
- products which may cause environmental damage; 
- products classified as weapons or made for warlike objectives; 
- products subject to non-tariff quotas as establishe d in Agreements of the Uruguay Round and 
products subject to tariff quotas. 
 
(h) Expected duration of the licensing procedure
 
 
 There is no expected duration for the elimina tion of the adopted measures, considering the 
importance of the goals indicated in the indent "g", above.  As for products subject to non-tariff 
quotas, the duration of the licensing procedure is  restricted to the period established in the 
international agreement, such as the case of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing. 
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Notification under Articles 1.4(a) and 8.2(b
) 
 
 
 We make available copies of the follo wing legislation concerning import licensing 
procedures1, as well as their summary:  
 
- Decree No 660 of 25 September 1992; 
- Ministerial Act MF/MICT No 291 of  12 December 1996; 
- Ministerial Act DECEX No 8 of  13 May 1991 (articles 22-27); 
- Ministerial Act MICT No 370 of  28 November 1994; 
- Ministerial Act SECEX No 09 of 27 July 2004, pu blished in the Official Gazette; 29 July 2004; 
whose article 1(a) was revoked by Minister ial Act SECEX No 15 of 17 November 2004, 
published in the Official Gazette; 23 November 2004 and article 1(b) was revoked by Ministerial 
Act SECEX No 14 of 17 October 2004, published in the Official Gazette; 21 November 2004 
- Ministerial Act SECEX No 14 of 17 Octobe r 2004, published in the Official Gazette; 
21 November 2004. 
- Ministerial Act SECEX No 15 of 17 November  2004, published in the Official Gazette; 
23 November 2004. 
 
 
Summary of the mentioned legislation:  
 
- Decree No 660 of 25 September 1992:  establish es the Integrated System for Exterior Trade 
(SISCOMEX). 
- Ministerial Act MF/MICT No 291 of  12 December  1996:  lists the information that shall be 
provided by the importer who uses the SISCOMEX, including cases subject to requirements for licensing. 
- Ministerial Act DECEX No 8 of  13 May 1991 (Articles 22-27):  publicizes the procedures for 
used goods.  
- Ministerial Act MICT No 370 of 28 November 1994:  amends Articles 22-27of the Ministerial 
Act DECEX No 8 of 13 May 1991, simplifying the administrative procedures for the importation 
of used goods. 
- Ministerial Act SECEX No 09 of 27 July 2004:  am ends the list of participating countries in the 
System of Certification of the Kimberley Process. 
- Ministerial Act SECEX No 14 of 17 Octobe r 2004, published in the Official Gazette; 
21 November 2004:  consolidates Ministeria l Acts SECEX related to importation;  
- Ministerial Act SECEX No 15 of 17 November  2004, published in the Official Gazette; 
23 November 2004:  consolidates Mini sterial Acts related to exports. 
   
                                                     
 
1 Available for consultation in the Secretariat (Market Access Division) (in Portuguese only). G/LIC/N/1/BRA/2/Rev.1 
G/LIC/N/2/BRA/2/Rev.1 G/LIC/N/3/BRA/4/Rev.1 
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Notification under Article 7.3
 
 
Replies to the Questionnaire on Import Licensing Procedures2 
 
Outline of system:  
 1. As a rule, the Brazilian importation regime do es not require licensing.  However, for some 
products, automatic import licensing and non-automatic import licensing are foreseen by means of the 
Integrated System of Foreign Trade (SISCOMEX).  
 
All import licences shall be required through the Integrated System of Foreign Trade 
(SISCOMEX).  Such administrative procedure – which integrates the registration activities and 
monitors imports and exports – is based on a sole fl ow of computerized information so as to make the 
process efficient and fast.  
 
 The importer may require the import licensing directly from his/her institution if it is registered in SISCOMEX.  It is also possible for authorized representatives to require the import 
licensing through the system.  No specific formular y is necessary, being sufficient to register the 
computerized operation. 
 
Purpose and coverage of licensing
 
2. Products related to the Administrative Treat ment of SISCOMEX and products under the 
special customs regime of drawback are subject to automatic licensing.  
 
 Products related to the Administrative Treatme nt of SISCOMEX are subject to non-automatic 
licensing. In their majority, they are products whic h may cause damage to human, plant or animal 
health; products capable of causing environmental damage; products classified as weapons or made 
for warlike purpose; products subject to non-tariff qu otas as established in the integrating agreements 
of the Uruguay Round and products subject to tariff quotas.  
3. Licensing is applied to all origins, without distinction. 
4. The purpose of automatic licensing is to allo w, through information collected by the 
SISCOMEX, the statistic follow-up of trade flows of  drawback operations, involving legal suspension 
of taxes or some products of interest to the Foreign Trade policy.  
 Non-automatic licensing aims to effectively fulfil the imposed administrative requirement, 
generally made by means of an international agre ement, such as the case of the Basel Convention and 
the Montreal Protocol, in accordance with the principles of GATT Article XX.  
5. The Brazilian import licensing regime is based on the following legislation: Decree No 660 of 25 September 1992; Ministerial Act MF/MICT No 291 of 12 December 1996; Ministerial Act 
DECEX No 8 of  13 May 1991 (articles 22-27); Mini sterial Act MICT No 370 of 28 November 1994; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 09 of 27 July 2004, pub lished in the Official Gazette of 29 July 2004; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 14 of 17 October 2004, published in the Official Gazette; 21 November 
2004; and Ministerial Act SECEX No 15 of 17 Nove mber 2004, published in the Official Gazette; 
23 November 2004. 
 
                                                     
 
2 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire.  G/LIC/N/1/BRA/2/Rev.1 
 G/LIC/N/2/BRA/2/Rev.1  G/LIC/N/3/BRA/4/Rev.1 
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   The competent administrative authority responsib le for licensing is the Department of Foreign 
Trade Operations (DECEX), which integrates the Fo reign Trade Secretariat (SECEX) subordinated to 
the Ministry of Development, Industry and Fo reign Trade (MDIC) of the Brazilian government. 
 
Procedures
 
6.I-XI Quantitative restrictions applied by Braz il – as well as information regarding licensing, 
quantitative limits, application term and administra tive procedures – are published in the Official 
Gazette and are in accordance with the principles of  multilateral agreements related to the trade of 
goods in WTO. On the webpage of MDIC (www.d esenvolvimento.gov.br) all Ministerial Acts are 
made available under the topic "Consolidati on of Ministerial Acts SECEX (imports)". 
 7.(a) In cases of non-automatic licensing, we re commend to the importer to obtain the licence 
before the departure of the products. Concerni ng the automatic licence, the requirement shall 
be made at any time before the beginning of the customs clearance . 
 
(b) Periods for processing and issuing licences are in  accordance with dispositions laid down in 
articles 2 and 3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. Once the requirements specified in legislation are fulfille d, periods tend to be shorter.  
 
(c) There are no limitations regarding the time of the year when requests shall be made, unless 
they are related to quantitative restrictions under the agreements of the Uruguay Round, as is 
the case of the Agreement on Textiles and Cl othing and the Agreement on Safeguards. 
 (d) As already mentioned in reply 5 above, DE CEX/SECEX is the competent administrative 
authority responsible for import licensing.  Ev er since the implementation of SISCOMEX, the 
importer, as a rule, does not need to present the information requested directly to the body.  
All necessary information shall be introdu ced through the SISCOMEX, which access and 
analyze the information sent.  In cases where it is required to present specific documentation 
– as established by the current legislation – the cited documentation is sent to DECEX or to bodies responsible for the measure, depending on the case.  The list of products subject to 
analysis by other governmental bodies is  available on the web page of MDIC. 
 8. Requests of licence may be refused if they do not fulfil the requirements made in the legislation, as in the case of imports which may thr eat human or animal health or cause environmental 
risks.  Refusals may be contested by the importer. 
 
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
 
9. Any person, enterprise or institution may requ est import licensing.  The only requirement is 
the registration in the Integrated System of Fore ign Trade (SISCOMEX).  From the first operation on, 
the institution is automatically  registered in SISCOMEX. 
 
Documentational and other require ments for application for licence  
10. Necessary information for requesting licensing is  available in the SISCOMEX.  They are also 
available in Annex II of Ministerial Act No 291 of 12 December 1996, of the Ministry of Finance and 
the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.   
 As a general rule, presentation of  documents is not required, unless in specific situations, such 
as in the case of imports subject to restrictions  (i.e. Agreement on Textiles and Clothing - ATV), 
when the export licence issued by th e exporting member shall be presented. G/LIC/N/1/BRA/2/Rev.1 
G/LIC/N/2/BRA/2/Rev.1 G/LIC/N/3/BRA/4/Rev.1 
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   11. There is no need for the importer to present the import licence in order to conclude the 
customs procedures.  
 
12. There are no fees for licensing or admini strative expenses.  The importer may request 
licensing through SISCOMEX directly from his/her in stitution once he/she is registered, or through 
institutions registered for that finality.  In case the importer prefers to use such institutions he/she will 
be subject to the conditions established by who provides the service, who can never charge on an ad 
valorem  basis.  
 13. Deposits of advanced payments concerni ng the issuance of licences are not required. 
 Conditions of licensing
 
 
14. Licences validity expires within 60 days af ter their issuance. In case it is necessary to 
postpone them or a different period is required, the importer shall present to the competent bodies a request justifying the postponement  before its expiration date.  
 15. In case of non-utilization of the licences, or partial utilization, there are no penalties. 
 
16. The ownership of the issued licences shall not be transferred.  17. In both cases, there are no othe r conditions to be observed for the issuance of licences other 
than those related to the goals of au tomatic and non-automatic licensing.  
 
18. In cases subject to non-automatic licensing,  information provided by the importer to 
SISCOMEX will be also analyzed by the other competent bodies which may be involved. This information may be accessed on the web page  of MDIC (www.desenvolvimento.gov.br). 
 19. There is no relation between the licensing regi me and exchange regime of foreign currency. 
 
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