Import and export process: the impact of bureaucratic simplification in customs clearance

Abstract

The procedures for importing and exporting merchandise in Brazil involve many bureaucratic matters, including federal and international laws. When something overseas arrives, along with its property certificate documents, the owner or company should proceed to the customs clearance to free its entrance. The updating of import and export declarations resulted in redesigning many dispatch companies' internal operation processes. This study aims to analyze the impacts on customs clearance and the advantages and disadvantages caused by simplifying the Brazilian bureaucratic process of importing and exporting. The opportunity was identified to carry out an empirical evaluation of the Brazilian policy of bureaucratic simplification in the import and export processes and its impact on a company's activities. This work has qualitative and descriptive research and presents a case study that sought to analyze the scenario faced by Brasiliense Comissária de Despachos company, located in the city of Campinas in São Paulo, Brazil. The results show that international trade became shorter, more centralized, and transparent with simplifying the import and export process. There was a saving of time and money reported by the company under study by applying DU-E and the possibility of attending more processes in the same period. This article intends to impact society practically through the case study, giving other international trade companies a perspective on the mapping of operations that have been restructured to meet the new simplifications. As for the theory, the impact will be realized by exposing the functioning and existing information on Brazil's import and export system to future researchers.