New SEDI Regime – Creation of Register of Commercial Debt.
International Trade & Customs Department Report | New SEDI Regime – Creation of Register of Commercial Debt
The Federal Tax Authority (AFIP) and the Secretariat of Commerce issued the joint General Resolution No. 5466/2023, published in the Official Gazette today, which abrogates the SIRA and SIRASE systems, and establishes the creation of the Statistical System of Imports (“SEDI”), through which importers must anticipate the information corresponding to import operations for consumption. Likewise, the Resolution in question provides for the constitution of the “Register of Commercial Debt for Imports with Foreign Suppliers.”
Below, please see a short description of the main characteristics of this new import system:
(i) Articles 1 and 15: The SIRA System is abrogated, and replaced by the Statistical Import System (SEDI), in which importers must provide, as a Sworn Declaration, the information requested by the system (details of merchandise, tariff position, FOB amount, quantity, etc.)
(ii) Article 3: The Declaration made in the SEDI (hereinafter, “SEDI Declaration”) will be valid for 360 days from the date it obtains the status of “EXIT” (that is, approved). [Comment: Previously, the Declaration was valid for 90 days from its approval, extendable for another 90].
(iii) Article 4: When making the SEDI Declaration, the AFIP will analyze the Financial Economic Capacity (CEF) of the importer as a prerequisite for it to become “Officialized” (that means “submitted”).
(iv) Article 5: The SEDI can be filed before the arrival of the imported products, to anticipate the information and facilitate customs operations. At the time of formalizing the import destination, the MALVINA Computer System (SIM) will require the identifying number of the SEDI declaration in EXIT (approved status) status and will carry out its validation.
(v) Article 6: The Government agencies involved in the approval of the SEDI Declaration must decide within a maximum term of 30 calendar days, counted as from the filing date of the SEDI. If the SEDI is not approved within such period, the SEDI Declaration will be deemed automatically approved. [Comment: Previously the period for issuing clearance was 60 calendar days and it could be extended].
(vi) Article 7: The operations exempted from the SEDI regime are: (a) regime of samples, donations, and diplomatic franchises; (b) merchandise exempt from duties and taxes; (c) Courier regime or postal shipments; (d) inputs for scientific-technological research; (e) operations to and from Tierra del Fuego (special economic zone); and (f) imports covered by the General Resolution No. 3628.
(vii) Article 8: The tolerance for discrepancies between the SEDI Declaration and the subsequent import clearance will be 7% more or less concerning the FOB unit value and 7% or more concerning the quantity. [Comment: Previously the tolerance was 5%].
(viii) Article 10: The “Registry of Commercial Debt for Imports with Foreign Suppliers” is created in which importers who have commercial debt for the importation of goods and services officialized with a date before December 13, 2023, must be registered (according to BCRA Communication “A” 7917), within 15 calendar days of the entry into force of this Resolution.
(ix) Article 12: It is established that subjects who do not register in the registry detailed in the previous point, or falsify or adulterate data, will not be able to access the mechanisms provided by the Resolution. [Comment: It is not specifically clarified what the consequence will be for not complying with that obligation].
(x) Article 13: Modifies Joint General Resolution No. 5429/2023 of AFIP and the Ministry of Commerce, so that it is no longer necessary to report the approval number of the file corresponding to the procedures for technical regulations.
(xi) Article 14: It is established that SIRA Declarations in EXIT or CANCELED status (that is, approved or used to nationalize merchandise) will remain valid and may be used to nationalize merchandise. The pending SIRA Declarations will lose validity and must be submitted again through the new SEDI system.
Likewise, SIRASE Declarations (for payment of services) that are not approved will be void. [Comment: The Resolution does not mention whether it is necessary to present a declaration in this SEDI system for payments of imports of services].
(xii) Finally, this Resolution will enter into force on December 27, 2023.
Last, as an additional update, the Ministry of Commerce today issued Resolution No. 1/2023 through which it repealed the Import License regime.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information on this matter.
Sincerely,
L. Augusto Vechio