WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/3/BRA/8 
19 April 2010 
 (10-1984) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
AGREEMENT ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES 
 
Notification under Arti cles 1.4(a), 8.2(b), 5 and 7.3 of the
 
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures  
 
BRAZIL 
 
 The following communication, dated 14 April 2010,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Brazil. 
_______________ 
 
 
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 
Foreign Trade (www.mdic.gov.br).  Products under 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; products subject to tariff 
quotas; and products subject to trade defence me asures established in accordance with the WTO 
agreements.  3. Licensing is applied to all origins, without distinction. G/LIC/N/3/BRA/8 
Page 2  
 
  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; Ministerial Act MDIC No 235 of 7 December 2006; Ministerial Act 
MDIC No 77 of 19 March 2009; Ministerial Act MD IC No 92 of 30 April 2009; Ministerial Act 
MDIC No 171 of 1 September 2009; Ministerial Ac t MDIC No 207 of 8 December 2009; Ministerial 
Act SECEX No 25 of 27 November 2008
1; Ministerial Act SECEX No 1 of 14 January 2009; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 3 of 19 February 2009;  Ministerial Act SECEX No 6 of 31 March 2009; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 7 of 1 April 2009; Ministerial Act SECEX No 10 of 7 May 2009; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 12 of 27 May 2009; Ministerial Act SECEX No 18 of 30 June 2009; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 19 of 8 July 2009; Ministerial Act SECEX No 24 of 26 August 2009; 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 26 of 4 September 2009;  Ministerial Act SECEX No 29 of 18 September 
2009; and Ministerial Act SECEX No 30 of 28 October 2009. 
 
The Ministerial Act SECEX No 36 of 22 November 2007 has been revoked through the 
Ministerial Act SECEX No 25 of 27 November 2008,  with regard the regulation concerning import 
licensing.  
 
 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 the WTO.  On the webpage of MDIC ( www.mdic.gov.br) all Ministerial Acts are made 
available under the topic "Consolidation of Ministerial Acts SECEX (imports)". 
7. (a) In cases of non-automatic licensing, we reco mmend to the importer to obtain the licence 
before the departure of the products.  As for the 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. 
                                                      
1 Available for consultation in the Secretaria t (Market Access Division ) (Portuguese only).  G/LIC/N/3/BRA/8 
 Page 3 
 
 
  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. 
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 inform ation 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 (M inisterial Act SECEX No 25/2008).  
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. Both automatic and non-automatic licences valid ity expires within 90 days after their 
issuance. In case it is necessary to extend their va lidity under exceptional circumstances, the importer 
shall present to the competent bodies a request justifyi ng its/their extension 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. 
__________