By Resolution SENAE-SENAE-2023-0056-RE, issued on July 31, 2023, and published in the Fourth Supplement of Official Gazette 386 of August 31, 2023, the National Customs Service of Ecuador (SENAE) established new regulations for companies authorized to operate under the international postal traffic and express courier regimes.
The most important changes include:
1. Courier entities will have the same responsibilities and obligations as those of a customs broker, regarding the transmission of the simplified customs declaration (DAS) and the filing of supporting documents.
2. Courier companies shall have the obligation to inform the consignees about the status of the cargo throughout the import process, and to advise them on issues related to tariff classification, valuation rules and reasonable doubt.
3. The Courier entities shall not be liable before SENAE for:
a. The accuracy of the information declared or for any difference in quantities and nature of the cargo.
b. The intention of the consignors to comply with the categories that exempt them from the payment of taxes (categories B, E and G).
c. The lack of house bills affixed to the shipments as long as they have not been subjected to physical inspections.
d. Verification of split shipments.
4. Administrative contraventions for not presenting supporting documents shall not be imposed to the courier entity if it is able to demonstrate that the consignee was duly informed of its obligations or that it had the express consent of the consignee not to present them. In such cases, the fine for the contravention shall be imposed on the consignee.
5. The exemption of prior control documents for textiles and footwear imported under category D is eliminated.
6. When importing medicines under category E the applicable medical prescription issued by a professional specialized in the diagnosed disease must be filed.
7. When the value of the international freight is not identified in the transport document, the courier company shall apply a reference value of US$0.003 per unified basic wage per kilo (freight value = USD$0.003 x (Unified Basic Salary) x Kg).
8. Courier cargo that has been definitively exported under a simplified customs export declaration shall be subject to the rules of the re-importation in the same state regime.
In the following link you can review the complete text of the Resolution:
SENAE-SENAE-2023-0056-RE
Andrea Moya, partner at CorralRosales
amoya@corralrosales.com
+593 2 2544144
Fernanda Inga, senior associate at CorralRosales
finga@corralrosales.com
+593 2 2544144