A taxpayer obtained, by a judicial court decision, the right to discuss in CARF the seizure of imported goods by customs authorities. Until then, the application of this kind of penalty was only analyzed by the lower court of the Federal Revenue Judgment Office (DRJ), with no possibility of appeal.

The sentence, handed down by the 2nd Federal Court of Itajaí, is the first to apply the Kyoto Convention, according to which it is necessary to observe the double level of analysis in all customs matters. This treaty has been in force in Brazil since this March 13, the date on which Decree 10.276 / 20, responsible for its promulgation, was published.

The penalty of seizure in import of goods is one of the most severe administrative sanctions and is applied to taxpayers when it is understood that there are irregularities in the import. Cases, for example, of goods evaluated as illegal, without an import license or guide or even when there is an omission in relation to what is being brought to Brazil.

Despite the Kyoto Convention’s validity,  providing for two administrative jurisdictions, the internal ruling of the Federal Revenue Service provides for just one jurisdiction for the seizure penalty. This means that taxpayers shall go to court to apply what is set out in the international standard.

In the case under analysis, the seizure penalty was applied to a metallurgical company in view of the allegation of divergences between the product declared in the Import Declaration and the one received. After being sanctioned by the customs authorities, the company tried unsuccessfully to resort to CARF and, faced with the denial of the appeal filed, resorted to the writ of mandamus in question.

In the decision, the judge understood that there is a need for observance of international treaties, as already decided, on other occasions, by the Supreme Federal Court, with CARF having the competence for said analysis in an appeal.

Our team is available to assist in this and other tax law issues. For further information please contact our Tax Team by the following emails: rmarques@zaslaw.com.br or zaslaw@zaslaw.com.br