Invima, as the authority in inspection, control and sanitary surveillance, did not wait to implement the modifications concerning the times and places of inspection of merchandise brought by Decree 659 of 2024.
In June, pursuant to the provisions of Article 21 of Decree 659 of 2024, which modifies Article 175 of Decree 1165 of 2019, Invima issued External Communication 7000-0493-2024, by means of which it determined that, as of August 1, 2024, Sanitary Inspections of food, alcoholic beverages, raw materials and secondary ingredients of the Food Industry that have been imported into the country will be carried out only at the places of arrival of the merchandise (ports, airports and border crossings).
Although Invima's intention was to act diligently in developing the principle of harmonious collaboration between public entities, it fell into the confusion generated by the gradual entry into force of the advance declarations, which will not be implemented until the DIAN certifies that the Electronic Information Services are in operation.
External Communication 7000-0493-2024, sought to apply the changes to the Advance Declaration prior to the entry into force of the main procedures for advance importation, as well as to exclude free zones, warehouses and other temporary storage establishments from possible places to inspect merchandise, which, due to the lack of force of the modification, continue to be used for such purposes.
The above circumstances caused a stir and uncertainty among customs users who have not modified their practices to date. Due to the above and after holding meetings with the different associations and users of foreign trade, Invima issued the new External Communication 7000-0511-24, by means of which External Communication 7000-0493-2024 is rendered ineffective.
The above highlights the problem posed by the issuance of regulations with uncertain conditions for their entry into force. In this case, Article 67 of Decree 659 of 2024 not only brought uncertainty to the different customs users, but also managed to confuse other administrative authorities that are part of the Foreign Trade processes.
Source: Legal Matters
