Brazil has taken another step toward modernizing its customs practices. With Decree 12,958/26, published on May 8, 2026, the country enacted the Mercosur Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA-Mercosur or the Bento Gonçalves Agreement), signed on December 5, 2019 among Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The Agreement now produces effects within the Brazilian legal framework and adds to a set of instruments aimed at the simplification, transparency, and modernization of customs procedures.

More broadly, this measure is part of an ongoing customs modernization agenda comprising the Revised Kyoto Convention (Decree 10,276/20), the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO-TFA, Decree 9,326/18), and the trade facilitation annexes to the Protocol to the Brazil-United States Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ATEC, Decree 11,092/22). The TFA-Mercosur, therefore, does not operate in isolation but rather as a regional layer of an international framework already incorporated by the country.

Structure of the Agreement


The Agreement comprises 21 articles organized around six core principles set out in Article 2: (i) transparency, efficiency, and harmonization of procedures; (ii) consistent, impartial, predictable, and reasonable administration of laws and regulations; (iii) best possible use of information technologies; (iv) application of risk management-based controls; (v) cooperation among customs authorities and other border agencies; and (vi) consultation with the business community.

For purposes of analysis, the provisions may be grouped into five thematic blocks: (i) transparency and participation (Articles 3 and 4); (ii) clearance and control (Articles 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11); (iii) predictability (Articles 8 and 12); (iv) costs and special regimes (Articles 13 and 15); and (v) institutional infrastructure (Articles 14, 16, 17, 18, and 19). The following sections address in greater depth the mechanisms with the most immediate practical effects for operators.

Key Mechanisms of the Agreement and Their Practical Effects


  • CUSTOMS CLEARANCE WITHIN OBJECTIVE TIMEFRAMES

Article 5, item 2, subparagraph “a”, provides that the States Parties shall adopt procedures that allow, to the extent possible, the clearance of goods within no more than 12 business hours when there is no selection for document review, physical inspection, or other customs procedures, and within up to 48 business hours when there is such selection, provided all legal requirements have been met.

Although the qualifiers in the Agreement (“to the extent possible,” “provided it is in compliance with all legal requirements”) limit the automatic application of the 12-hour and 48-hour deadlines as a peremptory obligation, these parameters will serve as an additional international standard and may strengthen operators’ positions in administrative and judicial discussions regarding clearance efficiency and timeframes.

 

  • RELEASE OF GOODS BEFORE FINAL DETERMINATION OF CUSTOMS DUTIES

In parallel with the objective timeframes, Article 5, item 2, subparagraph “d”, provides that the States Parties shall allow, in accordance with national legislation, the withdrawal of goods from customs before the final determination of applicable customs duties, taxes, fees, and charges. The central idea is to separate two stages of the clearance process: the physical release of the goods, on the one hand, and the final determination of the tax liability, on the other.

The practical relevance of this provision becomes evident when one considers that a significant portion of Brazilian customs disputes arises from disagreements between the importer and the tax authorities regarding tariff classification, customs valuation, or the originating status of goods under preferential regimes. In such cases, goods tend to remain held until the full payment of the additional tax assessment or the provision of a guarantee, which may extend their stay in a customs bonded area.

  • BINDING ADVANCE RULINGS ON TARIFF CLASSIFICATION AND ORIGIN

Article 8 governs advance rulings, which must be issued by the States Parties within a maximum period of 150 days, on tariff classification and the originating status of goods, with a minimum validity of three years, the possibility of modification or revocation under limited circumstances, and a prohibition on retroactive application to the detriment of the applicant, except in cases involving false or incomplete information.

This mechanism parallels the Brazilian regime of rulings issued by the Federal Revenue Service (RFB). However, there is no objective deadline for a response, and practical experience shows that in more complex cases, the response time may extend for months or even years.

  • PROGRESSIVE ELIMINATION OF FEES AND CHARGES IN INTRA-ZONE TRADE

Article 13 reaffirms that fees and charges levied in connection with imports and exports must be limited to the approximate cost of the services rendered, may not be calculated on an ad valorem basis, and may not constitute indirect protection for domestic products. In addition, item 3 of the provision establishes the elimination of consular transactions and related charges, with a specific transition schedule for each State Party.

  • AUTHORIZED ECONOMIC OPERATOR AND MUTUAL RECOGNITION IN MERCOSUR

Another point with relevant practical effects is found in Article 17, which establishes the commitment to strengthening the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs.

In current practice, Brazilian companies certified as AEO access operational benefits (such as priority in inspection channels and reduced inspections) primarily within national territory. The consolidation of the Agreement, in turn, expands its significance, so that AEO status becomes a variable in the customs risk management systems of other States Parties that have ratified the Agreement, with the potential for a direct impact on the speed of processing operations at the destination.

  • SYSTEMIC MODERNIZATION: TRANSIT, SINGLE WINDOWS, AND ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS

Three provisions make up the systemic modernization front of the Agreement. Article 14 provides for the implementation of the Computerized International Customs Transit System (Sintia), within up to one year after the entry into force for each State Party, replacing the current documentary processing of the International Cargo Manifest and the Customs Transit Declaration (MIC/DTA). Along the same lines, Article 18 addresses the interoperability among the Single Windows for Foreign Trade of the States Parties, based on the WCO Data Model, and Article 12 deals with the use and exchange of electronic documents.

These mechanisms address a recurring practical demand. Triangular operations, just-in-time supply chains, and flows involving partial industrialization abroad still face low interoperability among the electronic systems of the States Parties, with parallel requirements at border points and duplication of information – factors that translate into additional processing time and costs for customs brokers and in-house teams. The effective implementation of these structures is expected to produce progressive efficiency gains in intra-zone trade flows, especially when combined with the evolution of the Siscomex Single Portal at the Brazilian level.

Regulation


The practical effectiveness of the TFA-Mercosur depends, to a large extent, on the sub-legal regulations to be issued by the competent Brazilian authorities. In this context, it should be noted that the Brazilian model is decentralized, with distinct responsibilities assigned to each body of the Federal Administration.

For this reason, monitoring the minutes and work plan of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (Confac), the Resolutions of the Executive Management Committee of Camex (Gecex), the Normative Instructions of the RFB, the Ordinances of the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex), and the acts of consenting agencies is particularly relevant as essential instruments for tracking the operational evolution of the Agreement.

In light of this scenario, and considering the recent steps Brazil has been taking to expand its trade relations – such as the approval of the Mercosur-European Union Agreement and the regulation of the Compliance Programs and Habitual Debtor frameworks –, the internalization of the TFA-Mercosur warrants special attention. The effectiveness of the new mechanisms will depend on the coordinated action of the competent agencies and on close monitoring by the private sector.

The International Trade and Customs team at Machado Meyer follows the developments of the TFA-Mercosur and is available to answer questions and assist with adapting to the new rules.