Import Regulations - Colombia

Australia and Colombia enjoy sound bilateral commercial relations in the mining, energy and education sectors. Major export items included barley, electrical equipment and specialised machinery and parts.

Import tariffs
Generally, individuals or companies importing goods to Colombia have to comply with the following procedures:
1) Registering the import.
2) Value declaration.
3) Import declaration and payment of customs duties.
4) Withdrawal from Customs.

The above procedure is common for almost all imported goods. However, a small number of products may still require a license before their import is authorised. Other import modalities, which may have different procedures include: re-importing for passive reconditioning; unaltered re-importing; imports covered by a warranty; temporary importation for re-export; temporary importation for active reconditioning; imports to be transformed or assembled; postal traffic and urgent deliveries.

The import of a number of goods requires the importer to be registered at the respective entity or the issue of a permit (special authorisation). Specifically: Ministry of Transport; Ministry of Social Protection; Colombian Agriculture Institute (ICA); Requisite.

Due to a number of integration agreements with different countries, a complex system of tariffs are applied according to the treaties. The prior import-licensing requirement has been eliminated. About 97 % of the 5162 iarticles in the Colombian Harmonized Tariff Schedule are now on the free import list.

Import duties are ad valorem and are assessed on the CIF value of shipments. Colombia's tariffs conform to the 5-20 % Common External Tariff (CET) in effect for the Andean Community.

Specific taxes, fees and (or) surcharges: the majority of import of consumer goods, consumer electronics, and apparel (in addition to a 15 % estimate for freight and insurance FOB costs), are subject to a 1.2 % surcharge on the FOB value of products for a so-called  "Customs Services Fund".

A 16 % value-added tax (VAT) is levied on the CIF duty-paid value of imports, with only a couple exceptions.

Non-tariff import barriers
The majority of HS tariff categories don't require prior import license approval by the Ministry of Foreign Trade. However, customs duties and all taxes must be paid. An import request or registration form is also required.

The prior import-licensing requirement has been virtually eliminated; import registrations are common for the majority of imports. Import licenses are valid for 6 months; 1 year for capital goods. Requests for extensions are complicated and are allowed only for official imported and capital goods with valid justifications, for successive periods of 3 months per extension.