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International Trade Newsletter – July 2019

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND CUSTOMS NEWSLETTER

COMMENTS TO MOST IMPORTANT REGULATIONS

Law on Free Zone and Commercial Area of Tacna.- Through Law No. 30976 published on July 3, 2019, Law No. 27688, Law on Free Zone and Commercial Area of Tacna was amended (hereinafter “the Law”) in order to strengthen and promote the entry and exit of goods to and from those zones.

The main amendments that have been made are the following:

1. The activities that can be developed in the Free Zone and the Extension Zone are established, highlighting among other things, the industrial, assembly and maquila (in-bond assembly) activities.

2. The goods resulting from the productive processes covered by the Law that generate added value and whose destination is the rest of the national territory, are expected to paid the lowest ad valorem tariff rate applicable to the country according to the international agreements and covenants.

In order to enjoy this benefit, a change in the Tariff Heading of the inputs used and the final product is required (of the first four digits of the Harmonized System) or the productive process is required to generate added value of not less than 50% of the value declared for its customs clearance.

3. The entry of foreign goods from abroad to the Free Zone of Tacna and the exit of goods from the Free Zone into a foreign market (forwarded or exported goods) are carried out through any Customs Intendency of the country upon presentation of the request for transfer of goods from the Free Zone of Tacna, or by acceding the international treaties, covenants or agreements of cargo transport.

4. The entry of national or nationalized goods to the Free Zone of Tacna as well as the provision of services from the rest of the national territory to the Free Zone of Tacna can accede to the definitive or temporary export treatment, accordingly.

In the case of definitive export, the regulations related to the Simplified Restitution of Customs Duties (Drawback) and the General Sales Tax (IGV as per its Spanish acronym) are applicable, as well as any other tax regulation related to exports.

Finally, it is important to mention that the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, together with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Production must issue the relevant regulations within a period not exceeding 180 calendar days. Once this timeframe has elapsed, Customs, in coordination with the authorities of the Free Zone of Tacna, must issue the updated procedures within a period of no more than 60 calendar days.

A Discretionary Power is approved so that the infringements set forth in the General Customs Act related to the cargo manifest process for the exit of goods committed by carriers or their official representatives and international forwarding agents, are not temporarily determined or sanctioned.

The National Customs Deputy Superintendence Resolution No. 014-2019-SUNAT/300000 was published on July 12, 2019, through which the exercise of the discretionary power by the Customs Authority was approved so that the infringements related to the cargo manifest process are not determined or sanctioned:

Thus, on this basis, the Customs Authority may exercise its discretionary power not to determine or sanction the following infringements set forth in article 192 of the General Customs Law:

The following conditions must be met in order to apply such discretionary power according to the regulation subject of discussion:

  • The infringement has been committed:

a) By sea:

  1. In the Paita Customs Intendency between August 14, 2019 and November 14, 2019.
  2. In other Intendencies between August 29, 2019 and November 29, 2019.

 b) By land or river: between September 14, 2019 and December 14, 2019, and

c) By air: between September 30, 2019 and December 30, 2019.

  • The offender has sent or recorded the omitted information.

This measure is based on the fact that between August and September 2019, improvements were made to the exit of goods process within the framework of the component of the Program “Customs Facilitation, Security and Transparency” (FAST as per its Spanish acronym), which may cause inconsistencies at an IT level, therefore the non-application of sanctions due to inconsistencies in the customs systems is justified.

OTHER CURRENT NEWS

The anti-dumping duty on imports of zippers and their parts to Peru originating in the People’s Republic of China is terminated.

Through Resolution No. 0111-2019/SDC-INDECOPI published on July 21, 2019, the Indecopi Tribunal for the Defense of Competition decided to revoke Resolution No. 017-2018/CDB-INDECOPI, in the following matters: (i) anti-dumping duties were imposed on imports into Peru of zippers and their parts originating in the People’s Republic of China; and, (ii) the application of retroactive anti-dumping duties to imports made between June 1 and August 16, 2017 was ordered.

In this way, the anti-dumping duties that were being applied to imports into Peru of zippers and their parts originating in the People’s Republic of China have become ineffective, and importers shall have the right to request the return of the anti-dumping duties that have been paid in their imports within the corresponding legal term.

Amendments related to the authorization granted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to operate as International Forwarding Agent.-

Through Supreme Decree N ° 025-2019-MTC published on July 18, 2019, the following was established: (i) amend article 72 of the Regulation of Law No. 28583, Law for Reactivation and Promotion of the National Merchant Marine, approved by Supreme Decree No. 014-2011-MTC; and, (ii) incorporate articles 72-A and 72-B into this regulation.

The purpose of this amendment is to regulate the requirements for obtaining authorization as an International Forwarding Agent by sea, the procedure to follow to obtain the renewal of said authorization, as well as the communications that said International Forwarding Agent must send in the case of change of domicile.

These amendments are made at a time when the operational regulation scheme of International Forwarding Agents and Foreign Trade Operators is in general under evaluation and is about to be amended. These complementary amendments (especially at a customs operations level) could affect not only the level of demand in terms of the requirements for obtaining the corresponding authorizations but could also result in an increase in operational costs if, for example, there is a requirement to present a operational guarantee (bond letter).

This amending regulation establishes that within a maximum period of one hundred eighty (180) calendar days, counted from its entry into force, International Forwarding Agents by sea must adapt to the new requirements.

The provision of the conditions for the foreign trade of goods and services is established as a priority objective for the improvement of productivity and competitiveness in the country

The National Competitiveness and Productivity Plan was approved by Supreme Decree No. 237-2019-EF. This plan provides the conditions for the foreign trade of goods and services as a priority objective for the improvement of productivity and competitiveness in the country, based on the benefit from the commercial opportunities of trade openness.

The following policies are established in said plan in order to make the processes related to foreign trade more efficient and competitive compared to those that are developed worldwide: (i) Service platform for the development of the exportable supply and internationalization of companies; (ii) Coordinated border management; (iii) Strengthened Health Organizations; (iv) Model of Customs Facilitation, Security and Transparency (FAST) in Customs; (v) Special Economic Zones; (vi) Single Window of Foreign Trade 2.0; (vii) Single sector windows; (viii) Mechanisms to ensure the efficiency of the logistics services of commerce; and, (ix) logistic HUB.

RECOMMENDATION

The Ministerial Resolution No. 231-2019-EF published on June 13, 2019 ordered the publication of the draft Supreme Decree that amends the Regulation of the General Customs Act, taking into account the amendments made to the General Customs Act through Legislative Decree No. 1433.

All this implies the preparation of a new scheme of obligations, a new categorization of Foreign Trade Operators based on compliance and quality control in their operations, as well as the establishment of a new framework of infringements and penalties; all of these circumstances could have a significant impact on both the level of operational and logistic costs associated with foreign trade operations, and on the generation of contingencies that should be avoided or mitigated through duly and timely updated monitoring and alert systems.

On this basis, it would be expected that in the coming weeks the Supreme Decree that amends the Regulation of the General Customs Act will be finally issued, so it is advisable to be attentive to its approval and publication, in order to adapt the particularities of the foreign trade operations to the new regulations that will be issued soon.