Overview

• The Chamber of Deputies’ Finance Commission approved the customs reform 31–12 and sent the dictamen to the full chamber for debate scheduled Tuesday, reworking 65 articles, adding 44 and repealing nine.
• Committee tweaks include 20‑year renewable terms for customs broker patents and agency authorizations, certification every three years, use of letters of credit as guarantees, and transitory rules extending the new terms to existing licenses with aligned obligations.
• The draft heightens duties for brokers and agencies by requiring verification of compliance, detailed recordkeeping and full identification of clients without links to taxpayers flagged under Article 69‑B, while removing liability exclusions, adding suspension grounds and imposing joint liability for duties and compensatory quotas.
• Facilities handling customs operations must implement electronic inventory control, video surveillance, traceability and real‑time monitoring interoperable with the customs system, and a new Customs Council of SHCP, ANAM, SAT and the Anticorruption Secretariat would decide on licensing and sanctions.
• Major industry chambers from steel, sugar, textile, apparel and footwear urged passage to curb contraband and alleged abuse of strategic fiscalized sites, as opposition parties argued the bill over-penalizes private agents, lacks co-responsibility for authorities and risks violating presumption of innocence.