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Import

How to import into Venezuela, step by step

By Romulo Felizola · Published

Official from an official text we read (Gazette or regulation). Reported from press, law firms or companies, with its date. Unconfirmed no reliable source: ask a customs broker.

To import into Venezuela you need a RIF tax ID, usually work through a customs broker and file a declaration in the automated customs system; you then pay the duties (tariff, 1% customs fee and 16% VAT) and collect the cargo within 30 days. Before shipping, check your product’s tariff line and whether it needs a prior permit.

The rules

The governing law is the Organic Customs Law published in Official Gazette 6,507 Extraordinary of January 29, 2020 Official. The current Customs Tariff is Decree 4,944 of 2024, reformed by Decree 5,103 of March 2025 Official. Claims that “the tariff dates from 1997” are wrong.

The steps

  1. Classify the goods

    Each product has a 10-digit code. It sets the duty (AEC column, a percentage of value) and the legal regime: prohibited, reserved to the government or subject to a permit Official. Look it up in our tariff search.

  2. Get prior permits if needed

    Depending on the product: SACS for health products, INSAI for animal and plant products, SENCAMER for technical regulations Reported. Get them before shipping.

  3. RIF and a customs broker

    Importers need a RIF Reported. The broker acts “in the name and on behalf of” the client (art. 98) and files the Advance Information Declaration (art. 41) Official: 15 to 1 days before arrival by air or land, 15 to 2 days by sea. Baggage, household goods, postal parcels and express shipments are exempt (art. 42).

  4. Import declaration (DUA)

    Filed “through the automated customs system” (art. 40) Official, known in the trade as SIDUNEA, with the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill and permits.

  5. Inspection channel

    Since September 2026, according to SENIAT instructions reported by Baker McKenzie and the press, declarations go to a green (no inspection), yellow (documents) or red (documents and goods) channel, and copies of ID, RIF or tax returns are no longer required Reported.

  6. Pay and collect

    Pay the duty, the 1% customs fee on customs value (Decree 1,505, art. 17) and VAT Official. Run the numbers in the import duty calculator. Which bank, currency and exchange rate are used for payment Unconfirmed.

Don’t leave cargo in the warehouse. Undeclared or uncollected goods fall into legal abandonment after 30 calendar days (art. 73) Official.

If you sell from the U.S.

Exporting to Venezuela from the U.S. also involves U.S. rules: Venezuela-related sanctions and OFAC general licenses change often. We don’t interpret them; check OFAC’s official page or a specialized lawyer.

Questions people ask

Do I need a customs broker to import into Venezuela?

The Organic Customs Law (art. 41) requires the Advance Information Declaration to be filed through a customs broker. Commercial imports are handled with one in practice. We found no rule saying whether an individual can do the whole process without one.

How long can goods stay in customs?

Goods not declared or collected fall into legal abandonment after 30 calendar days (art. 73 of the Organic Customs Law). The government can change that period by decree.

What taxes apply to imports?

The duty for the tariff line (Decree 4,944 of 2024 and its reforms), a 1% customs fee on customs value (Decree 1,505, art. 17) and 16% VAT on the value plus those charges (VAT Law, art. 21).

Sources checked on November 8, 2026

  1. Organic Customs Law and VAT Law — Official Gazette 6,507 Extraordinary, Jan 29, 2020
  2. Customs fees regulation, Decree 1,505 (vLex Venezuela)
  3. Baker McKenzie — SENIAT issues instructions to simplify customs procedure (Oct 9, 2026)

Something changed or looks wrong? Send us a correction.

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