Brazil’s Internal Revenue Service releases 2019 customs results

Brazil’s Internal Revenue Service released this Thursday, March 5, the balance of customs activities in 2019. This includes results achieved with the Single Foreign Trade Portal Siscomex, electronic trade, passenger control, the Authorized Economic Operator Program and the actions to combat smuggling, embezzlement and other illicit customs activities.

According to the undersecretary, the seizures of goods last year reached a record and totaled R$ 3.25 billion, equivalent to 3.22% growth, compared to the same period in 2018. That was the best result in the last 10 years. Intelligence operations, the use of sniffer dogs, scanners in ports, and overflights using thermal cameras, also helped to increase seizures.

During 2019, 4,955 surveillance and repression operations against smuggling and embezzlement were carried out. These activities aim to prevent illicit action and tacklem them when they do happen. This total represented a 48.04 percent increase compared to 2018.

The quantity of seized products varies a lot from year to year, depending on the type and nature of the product. They also depend on a variety of other internal and external factors, as well as on the performance of the Federal Revenue Service. Nevertheless, the seizure of cigarettes has been very significant in recent years.

Regarding import and export operations, the volume of Brazilian exports reached US$ 259,16 billion, which represents a fall of approximately 9.6% compared to the previous year, when US$ 268,01 was registered.

Imports totaled US$ 234.39 billion from January to December 2019. During the same period the previous year imports reached US$ 221.03 billion. That represents an increase of approximately 6.04%.

The following graph, made with data from the Brazil’s Internal Revenue Service, shows the agency’s annual seizures in the period from 2010 to 2019:

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