Geneva, July 2012

Customs Cooperation – Information Exchange

Brazil Division on International Customs Affairs

Regional/Multilateral Customs Cooperation• A single agreement, with benefits for all

• A useful tool to curb fraud and to improve enforcement and trade facilitation

Brazil:Multilateral Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual

Assistance between the National Customs Authorities of Latin America, Spain and Portugal (COMALEP) -1981

29 member countries in 4 different regions

Agreement on Cooperation, Information Exchange, Data Consultation and Mutual Assistance between Customs Authorities of MERCOSUR – 1997 2006

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay

VPN

via Internet

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

ARGENTINA BRAZIL

URUGUAYPARAGUAY

Exchanged Data Each Member State makes available to the

other Member States data concerning:

Intra and extra-regional imports;

Intra-regional exports

Request for information can be made by declaration or period

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

Number of requests for information

2009 2011Made by Brazil 11.716 9.561Made to Brazil 47.756 443.79

9

Number of declaration

Importation or Exportation

Search by declaration

Country providing information

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

Data contained in the declaration and information about its processing

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

Data about the imported good

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

Country providing the information

Search by period

Exportation

Exporter identification (optional)Tariff classification (optional)

Destination country

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

Export Declarations within the searched period

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

Search by importation linked to an exportation

Country providing the information (importer/Uruguay)

Export Declaration (Brazil)

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

Import declaration (Uruguay)

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

• WCO has recognized the system as an international best practice for customs, providing an adequate tool for information exchange between customs authorities

• COMALEP has taken it into account as a basis for its future works in the area of customs information exchange

• Argentinean and Mexican customs have implemented it on a trial basis. Trial operations are also envisaged with Bolivia and Chile. Ecuador has also indicated interest in participating.

INDIRA – Exchange of Information from Customs Registers

• Necessary to cope with the increasing number of operations and irregular practices

• Exchange should be simple, quick and effective

• Request and response should be electronic, if possible

• Important to provide some details about the specific case: information being sought, reasons to doubt the truth or accuracy of a declaration (in sum, what customs needs to prove/confirm)

• Requesting country should first conduct internal verifications.

• As a general rule:- Pieces of information contained in the

import or export declaration- Documents supporting the import or

export declaration

Modernization and Simplification of Information Exchange

Thank you!

Marco Antonio Borges de SiqueiraDivision on International Customs Affairs

+55 61 3412-3481marco.siqueira@receita.fazenda.gov.br