From the Newsroom
São Paulo – A study by Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) reveals that annual losses due to the obsolete Brazilian Customs System are almost US$ 2.5 billion. This estimate considers export and import operational and financial costs.
What causes this loss is that, according to specialists in foreign trade, import and export procedures are bureaucratic, slow, and inconsistent, causing negative impacts to the Brazilian image on the international market and significantly increasing cost, consequently making Brazilian products less competitive.
So as to change this picture, the Alliance For Modernization of Foreign Trade Logistics (Procomex), made up of over 40 Brazilian organizations, has, through seminar "Customs: Foreign Trade Competitiveness Factor," which took place on Tuesday 11 in the financial city of São Paulo, released a proposal for modernization of Brazilian customs.
Procomex defends an alliance between the private sector and the federal government so as to make Brazilian customs more efficient.
The Procomex has elaborated a discussion project, including a strategic plan development by the business community together with the government, to be implemented in between three and five years.
The plan should describe general strategies and priorities, supported by an annual management plan with detailed targets, objectives and performance measures.
Control system
One of the suggestions by the organization is creation of a control system for immediate customs clearance, before arrival in the country, based on previous receipt of the documents and on a risk management system (to distinguish honest companies from negligent ones), with later tax inspection.
"Physical inspection would take place separate from the tax inspection, as occurs in many countries. Most of the cargo would get to the country having been previously cleared, and customs would also select what cargo to inspect in advance, not exceeding 5% of the total volume imported," explained Jovelino Pires, Procomex coordinator.
Another important point in the project is increasing the value of Customs employees, who should receive adequate salaries, should have career development plans, standardized job descriptions, and constant training.
The Procomex alliance is a civil organization, not connected to any political party, which brings together over 40 institutions in the productive sector, non government organizations, government and legislative authorities, public organizations, international organizations, Brazilian foreign trade specialists and agents, whose objective is to provide Brazil with a more modern and competitive customs flow, stimulating business activity and serving as a reference to other countries in the Mercosur, the Common Market of the South, a customs union between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
