Colombia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in colombia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Customs Regulations
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When exporting to Colombia, make arrangements with a Customs Agency to receive the merchandise and clear it through customs. The following are the main steps to be followed:

  • Customs inspects the merchandise, when they consider it necessary, and then authorizes withdrawal of goods.
  • Fill out the “Andean Custom Value Declaration” (Declaración Andina de Valor en Aduana) when the import value is equal to or more than USD 5,000.00 FOB.
  • Fill out the Import Declaration (‘Declaración de Importación’). When the import value is equal to, or more than USD 1,000.00 Customs Brokers should do all the paperwork and clear the shipment through Customs.
  • Go to an authorized financial entity and pay the import duties, VAT, surcharges, and other fees.
  • Present all documents to customs.
  • The importer must keep import documents for a period of no less than five years.

Customs officials are responsible for inspecting merchandise to verify that the description and classification are consistent with the importer’s declaration. A customs inspection group often performs after-clearance random investigations to detect fraud, foreign exchange irregularities, and tax evasion.  Major customhouse brokers have a customs office in their own bonded warehouses where most clearance procedures are completed before the merchandise is delivered to the customer.  

Contact Information

Colombian National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN).

Tax Service Contact Center Line: (+57) 601 307 8064

Customs Contact Center Line: (+57) 601 307 8065

 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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