The Decree was initially published on 24 April 2024, without including the text of the Tariff itself, containing only its normative instrumentation. On 25 April 2024, it was published again, but this time the tariff regulations were accompanied by the text of the new Tariff. Additionally, the Decree was made available to the public in May, but as of the date of this report, it has not yet been printed and distributed. This delay generates important legal and practical implications in relation to the 30-day period for the entry into force of the Tariff for all customs operations, especially the import of goods. This particularly affects the constitutional principle of legal certainty, in the context of the very purpose of the vacatio legis, which means that individuals have the right to foresee the regulatory changes of the legal system and, thus, can adapt their economic operations with sufficient time to the new legislation in force.
In depth
- The Decree adopts the Tariff by amending the tariff nomenclature, headings, subheadings, supplementary notes and the general rules for their interpretation, in accordance with the WCO HS Amendment VII ("Amendment VII"), which entered into force on 1 January 2022.4
- The principal goal of Amendment VII is to adapt to new product flows, technological advances and environmental impacts. The 351 amendments include the creation of eight new headings, the elimination of two other headings, and clarification of numerous headings and subheadings with new supplementary notes. Finally, Venezuela has adopted the Tariff amendment by decree.
- The Decree establishes that, for the declaration and clearance of goods in customs, the Tariff will be adjusted to the order provided in the Organic Customs Law,5 its regulations, the Decree and its amendments, which will consist of (i) the 10-digit code, (ii) the description of the goods, (iii) the ad valorem tariff, (iv) the exceptions to the common external tariff, (v) the legal regime and (vi) the physical unit.
- The Decree provides that permits, licenses, registrations, quality certificates or any other requirements that have been issued by the relevant official bodies prior to its entry into force (i.e., 25 May 2024) and are still in force should be accepted by the customs authorities for customs declaration purposes.
- The Decree establishes that, without detriment to the requirements indicated in columns five and six of its Article 37, the enforceability of the legal regimes designated to goods that were not affected by the Repealed Tariff is suspended for a period of 30 days (i.e., until 25 May 2024). To such effect, the respective correlation tables shall be applied between the nomenclature contained in the Repealed Tariff and the nomenclature established in the Tariff of the Decree, which shall be disclosed by the Customs Administration to harmonize the applicable legal regime.
- The usual importers and exporters must verify in the Tariff if there was an affectation in the tariff code of goods that are frequently destined for import, export or transit.
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1 Official Gazette No. 6,804 of 25 April 2024.
2 Official Gazette No. 2,647 of 30 December 2016.
3 Decree Nos. 6,281, 6,510, 6,698, 42,454, 6,727, 6,750 and 6,784 of 30 December 2016, 5 February 2020, 2 May 2022, 2 September 2022, 29 December 2022 and 29 November 2023, respectively, published in official gazettes Nos. 6,510, 6,698, 42,446, 42,454, 6,727, 6,750 and 6,784 of such dates.
4 Available on https://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/nomenclature/instrument-and-tools/hs-nomenclature-2022-edition/hs-nomenclature-2022-edition.aspx.
5 Constituent Decree for the Reform of the Decree with Rank, Value and Force of the Organic Customs Law, published in Official Gazette No. 6,507 of 29 January 2020.
