WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/3/BRA/7 
1 December 2008 
 (08-5873) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
1 
 
Notification under Article 7.3 of the  
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures  
 
BRAZIL 
  
The following communication, dated 26 November 2 008, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Brazil. 
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Outline of system 
 
 
1. As a rule, the Brazilian importation regime does 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 computerised 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 form is necessary and it is sufficient to register the computerised operation. 
 
Purpose and coverage of licensing
 
2. The products subject to automatic licensing ar e listed in the Administrative Treatment of 
SISCOMEX and can also be found on the web page  of the Ministry of Development, Industry and 
Commerce (www.desenvolvimento.gov.br). Products unde r the special customs regime of drawback 
are also subject to automatic licensing.  
 The products subject to non-automatic licensing ar e listed in the Administrative Treatment of 
SISCOMEX and can also be found on the web page  of MDIC. In their majority, they are products 
which may cause damage to human, plant or animal health; products capable of causing 
environmental damage; products clas sified as weapons or made for warlike purpose; products subject 
to non-tariff quotas as established in the agreements of the Uruguay Round and products subject to 
tariff quotas. 
                                                      
1 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire. G/LIC/N/3/BRA/7 
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  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. 
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); Mi nisterial Act MDIC No. 235 of 7 December 2006; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No. 36 of 22 November  2006; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 39 of 22 
November 2007; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 1 of 15  January 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 4 of 
11 March 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 5 of 31  March 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 6 of 5 
May 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 13 of 17 July 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 17 of 27 
August 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 18 of 1 August 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 19 of 9 
September 2008; Ministerial Act SECEX No. 22 of 30 September 2008. 
 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 Fore ign 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 the WTO. On the webpage of MDIC (www .desenvolvimento.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. As for th e automatic licence, the requirement shall be 
made at any time before the be ginning 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 restricti ons under the agreements of the Uruguay Round. 
(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 introduced  through the SISCOM EX, which accesses and 
analyses the information sent. In cases wher e it is required to introduce specific 
documentation – as established by the current le gislation – 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 of the applicable 
legislation, as in the case of imports which may thr eat human or animal health or cause environmental 
risks.  Refusals may be, however, challenged by the importer.  G/LIC/N/3/BRA/7 
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  Eligibility of importers to apply for licence  
9. Any person, enterprise or institution may request  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. 
Documents and other requirements  for application for licence  
10. There are no especial forms. Necessary informa tion for requesting licensing is available under 
SISCOMEX.  
As a general rule, presentation of documents is  not required unless in specific situations 
established by the Brazilian legislation (Ministerial Act SECEX No. 36/2007). 
11. There is no need for the importer to present th e import licence in order to conclude the 
customs procedures. The importer must presen t only the documents concerning the customs 
procedures. 
12. There are no fees for licensing or administ rative 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, but never on an ad valorem  
basis.  
13. Deposits of advanced payments or guarant ees concerning the issuance of licences are not 
necessary. 
Conditions of licensing  
 
14. Licences validity expires within 60 days after their issuance. In case it is necessary to extend 
their validity or a different period is required, the importer shall present to the competent bodies a request justifying its/their extens ion before its expiration date.  
15. In case of non-utilisation of the licences, or partial utilisation, there are no penalties. 
16. The ownership of the issued licences shall not be transferred. 
17. In both cases, there are no other conditions to be observed for the issuance of licences other 
than those related to the goals of au tomatic and non-automatic licensing.  
Other procedural requirements
 
 
18. The importer is required to obtain an authori zation from the Federal Revenue of Brazil in 
order to operate within SISCOMEX. 
19. There is no relation between the licensing regi me and foreign currency exchange regime.  
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