With the issuance of Decree 920 of June 6, 2023, “By which the new sanctioning and seizure of goods regime for customs matters is issued, as well as the applicable procedure,” by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, several aspects, including the terms for the occurrence of Positive Administrative Silence, have been adjusted.
The new article 138 of the aforementioned Decree established that the failure to meet the terms for the occurrence of Positive Administrative Silence would include not only the expiration of the deadline for the issuance of the administrative act but also the deadline for its notification.
Prior to the issuance of this new Decree, Decree 1165 of 2019 in its article 707 (now repealed) established that non-compliance with the terms by the Customs Authority for declaring Positive Administrative Silence only included the deadline for the issuance of administrative acts that resolve substantive processes of scrutiny, sanction, seizure of goods, or reconsideration, without encompassing the notification of the same within this term. This had the consequence that, while the Customs Authority issued the respective act within the legal timeframe, the moment of notification was uncertain, extending the period for the interested party to access the content of the decision.
In this regard, it is important to note that the new regulation is more protective and provides greater legal certainty to the relationship between individuals, customs users, and the administration.
