The Import Trading Company
A trading import company is a company specialized in accompanying foreign or Brazilian companies in their importation processes.
The reasons to choose a trading import company:
A trading import company
- Seeks to reduce costs. By realizing financial studies and negotiating with carriers, the company succeeds in optimizing logistics costs.
- Enables the complete outsourcing of the importation process in Brazil.
To face up to the complexity of importation in Brazil, specific importation modalities were developed, such as Import On Behalf or Import Under Order, that enable to outsource to specialized companies the importation operations and the responsibility towards the customs.
A trading company or Comercial Importadora generally offers its services to companies that are willing to import goods but do not have any experience or skills to do it, or to companies that make a few importations but do not have resources to hire a full-time employee dedicated to importations.
In this case, the importation operation is outsourced to a company specialized into import. Importation is realized under a contract with the Trading Company or Comercial Importadora, which undertakes to cover the whole importation process, the customs clearance, and the delivery to the client. The outsourced company is responsible of all the administrative and operational processes.
How to Import via a Trading Company
Trading companies or Comercial Importadora can import on behalf of clients through two different ways:
1. Import on Behalf and Under Order
The « por Conta e Ordem de Terceiro » import (on behalf of third party) consists in outsourcing the importation operation by mandating an outside company – a trading company – in order to realize the customs clearance and the goods nationalization.The sale/purchase contract between the seller and the buyer is independent, and the importer and the exporter directly realize the payment of the goods.
The Trading Company only covers the importation process and the cost related, and is responsible towards the government of importation legality. The company realizes on her own behalf the importation and the customs clearance of goods purchased by another company – the final buyer.
The RADAR of the two companies, the Trading Company and the final buyer, are used and registered with the customs system SISCOMEX:
- The Trading Company’s one for the customs clearance;
- The final buyer’s one for the import duties and taxes registration, and the nationalization of the goods on its behalf.
As part of the customs clearance and the nationalization of the goods, the Trading Company may realize different actions on behalf of the final buyer:
- Pay the international freight;
- Pay the shipping handling and parking costs,
- Emit the tax bills of goods entrance and issue,
- Pay the import duties and the nationalization taxes,
- Pay the national freight until the delivery to the client/reseller.
The final buyer advances all these costs to the Trading Company before the arrival of the goods in Brazil.
The importation « por Conta e Ordem de Terceiro » is governed by a contract of provision of services. Though, the Brazilian government requires the Trading Company to invoice all the services on a specific bill, in order to clearly identify the benefits of the Trading Company.
The services rendered by the Trading
- business intermediation, transport quotes (if needed),
- elaboration of an estimated quotation in order to compare the customs cleared cost,
- elaboration of Invoices and Packing List in accordance with the legislation and the Brazilian customs,
- determination of the MERCOSUR customs nomenclature (NCM),
- checking of the commercial documents, transport documents, certificate of origin, …
- coordination of freight-forwarder, ship-owner, carrier, custom broker, customs, …
- document management by mailing,
- warehousing and labeling (if needed),
- emission of tax bills of goods entrance and issue.
2. Import under Order (por Encomenda)
The importation « por Encomenda » (under Order) consists in ordering from a Trading Company/Comercial Imp to import and realize the customs clearance and the goods nationalization. In this case, the sale/purchase contract is realized between the seller and the Trading Company/ Comercial Imp.
The Trading Company/Comercial Imp covers everything, goods purchase and responsibility related, importation process and costs related. The Trading Company is responsible towards the government of importation legality. The Trading Company/Comercial Imp is sponsored to realize on its own behalf the importation and the customs clearance of goods purchased under order of another company, the sponsor.
The RADAR of the two companies, the Trading Company and the sponsor, are used and registered with the customs system SISCOMEX:
- the Trading Company’s one for the registration of import duties and taxes, goods nationalization, and customs clearance on its own behalf,
- the sponsor’s one for the declaration of the goods final recipient.
As part of the customs clearance and the nationalization of the goods, the Tradinc Company may realize different actions on behalf of the final buyer:
- Pay the international freight;
- Buy the goods from the foreign exporter,
- Pay the shipping handling and parking costs,
- Pay the import duties and the nationalization taxes,
- Emit the tax bills of goods entrance and issue,
- Pay the national freight until the delivery to the client/reseller
- Resell the goods to the sponsor.
The sponsor is not required to advance the costs to the Trading Company before the arrival of the goods in Brazil.
The importation « por Conta e Ordem de Terceiro » is governed by a contract of provision of services including the resell of goods by the Trading Company to the sponsor. Though, the Brazilian government requires the Trading Company to invoice all the services on a specific bill, in order to clearly identify the benefits of the Trading Company.
The services rendered by the Trading
- business intermediation, transport quotes (if needed),
- elaboration of an estimated quotation in order to compare the customs cleared cost,
- elaboration of Invoices and Packing List in accordance with the legislation and the Brazilian customs,
- determination of the MERCOSUR customs nomenclature (NCM),
- checking of the commercial documents, transport documents, certificate of origin, …
- coordination of freight-forwarder, ship-owner, carrier, custom broker, customs, …
- document management by mailing,
- warehousing and labeling (if needed),
- emission of tax bills of goods entrance and issue.
