NEW DECREE 0659 OF 2024 ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND PUBLIC CREDIT, WHICH MODIFIES THE CUSTOMS REGULATION

Last May 22, Decree 0659 of 2024 was issued, which partially amends Decree 1165 of 2019, in order to update the customs regulations, among the main changes was established:

  1. MANDATORY FILING OF THE ADVANCE IMPORT DECLARATION

This declaration must be filed at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the arrival of the merchandise to the national customs territory, and must be updated once the unloading and inconsistencies report is submitted.

According to the Directorate of National Taxes and Customs – DIAN, this type of mandatory advance declaration facilitates greater customs control, allowing the control entities to know in advance the information of the goods that will enter the national customs territory, which in the opinion of the customs authority, will reduce the time of customs clearance of the goods.

Failure to file the advance declaration or filing it late will result in the imposition of the penalty established in paragraph 2.3 of article 29 of Decree 920 of 2023, consisting of a fine equivalent to 1% of the FOB value of the goods, not to exceed 300 UVT, for each transport document. In case of late filing, the penalty will be reduced to 80% of the value, provided that the fine is presented and paid, otherwise the declaration will not be effective.

However, the rule preserves some exceptions to the mandatory filing of the anticipated import declaration in operations such as:

  • Importation of merchandise coming from a free zone.
  • Importation of means of transport that have suffered damages or breakdowns while in the national customs territory.
  • Presentation of declaration of correction, modification and legalization.
  • Importation of electric energy, petroleum and liquid fuels derived from petroleum.
  • Importation of residues, waste or parts resulting from industrial transformation, processing or manufacturing.
  • Initial declaration preceded by urgent delivery.
  • Provisions on board for consumption and to take away that must be declared in ordinary importation.
  • Reusable cargo units, containers and general reusable seals.
  • Goods that have entered the national customs territory under the modality of postal traffic and express shipments.
  • Goods consisting of war material.
  • Others established by the DIAN.
  1. CONSOLIDATED PAYMENT

Another major change refers to the consolidated payment, a prerogative enjoyed by simplified procedure customs users and authorized economic operators. This prerogative allows them to make the payment within the first five (5) working days of each month for the import declarations that were released in the previous month.

Decree 0659 of 2024 incorporates the penalty established in numeral 1.3 of article 66 of Decree 920 of 2023, specifying the negative consequences of making the consolidated payment in an untimely manner. In any case, this will imply the imposition of a fine.

Additionally, it is provided that the untimely payment will entail the suspension of the benefit of the consolidated payment for two (2) months if the payment is made outside the corresponding month, and for six (6) months if it is the customs authority who identifies the non-compliance and requires the customs user.

  1. TARIFF CLASSIFICATION RESOLUTIONS

With this Decree the terms for the DIAN to resolve tariff classification requests are reduced from three (3) months to two (2) months counted from the date of filing of the request to issue the resolution of tariff classification, issued at the request of any interested party, called ordinary.

  1. MODIFICATION AND INCLUSION OF NEW DEFINITIONS

Concepts of legal abandonment, erroneous and incomplete description of the serial number, different merchandise and functional unit are modified or added.

And definitions are incorporated to article 3 of Decree 1165 of 2019 such as: expected behavior, entry declaration, categorized obligation, Integral Logistics Operator of goods ADA, warehouse registration among others.

  1. CUSTOMS TRANSIT REGIME

In land transportation of goods under customs control, the declarant’s responsibility has been modified. The declarant will be responsible both for the information contained in the customs transit declaration and for the payment of the customs duties corresponding to the goods that do not arrive at the customs office of destination. In addition, it is expressly established that, if the declarant is a customs agency, it shall be liable for the payment of customs duties under any circumstances.

  1. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING COMPANIES

The new normative provision defined as imports, the sales of goods made by an industrial user supplier of goods or goods and services installed in a free trade zone, to an international marketing company. And on these operations it will only be possible to issue a certificate to the supplier when the goods sold are 100% national or nationalized.

Additionally, it was specified that the entry of goods by an international marketing company to an industrial user of goods or goods and services located in a free zone, for the provision of a service, will be processed as a temporary export for outward processing. This modality shall conclude with the reimportation of the goods within the terms indicated in article 196 of Decree 1165 of 2019, or with their definitive export to a user of the free zone.

  1. VALIDITY 

This decree came into force on June 07, 2024, but some normative provisions are subject to the implementation of the DIAN’s Integral Electronic System, which must be carried out by the customs authority, prior to its entry into force.

Finally, it should be noted that Decree 0659 of 2024 will be regulated by a Resolution issued by the DIAN, which will become a fundamental pillar to validate the application and scope of these and other provisions that have been modified.