PARTIAL REFORM OF THE CUSTOMS TARIFF DATED DECEMBER 31, 2025
On December 31, 2025, Decree No. 5,198 was published in the Official Gazette No. 6,952 (Extraordinary), establishing a significant partial reform of the Customs Tariff that impacts various sectors.
The main changes include:
I. Capital Goods (BK), Information Technology, and Telecommunications (BIT)
- The possibility of requesting a reduction of the Ad Valorem Tariff down to 0% remains in effect for goods classified as BK and BIT in the Customs Tariff, subject to obtaining a certificate issued by the Foreign Trade Committee (“COMEX”).
- It was added that, for goods classified as exempt under Article 65 of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Law, the benefit may be applied in conjunction with the COMEX certificate, provided that those goods are also classified as BK or BIT in the Customs Tariff.
II. Ad Valorem Tariff:New Ad Valorem Tariffs are implemented through the application of Exceptions to the Common External Tariff (Ex. AEC). Examples include changes in tariffs for certain products under tariff heading “1701 – Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form”; certain lubricating oils with additives; various cosmetic products; and several products from the chapters covering apparel, clothing accessories, and other made-up textile articles.
III. Legal Regimes:
- Regarding Legal Regime No. 13, it now refers to: “13. Certificate of Health Registry issued by the Ministry of People’s Power with jurisdiction over productive agriculture and lands.”
- In general terms, variations are established in the import legal regimes applicable to various products such as: medicines, food products, and products contained within headings 9801 to 9807 of Subchapter I, titled “Parts, pieces, and components for the assembly of motor vehicles, motorcycles, tractors, power tillers, trailers, and semi-trailers” of Chapter 98 of the Customs Tariff, titled “Goods subjected to special tariff treatments,” among other lists included in this reform Decree.
IV. Tariff Codes:New subdivisions (breakdowns) are incorporated into subheadings containing various products such as oats, food supplements, and various medicines, among others, and legal regimes are modified.
V. Automotive Sector:
- A supplementary note is included in the aforementioned Subchapter I of Chapter 98, stating that vehicle assembly companies registered with the Ministry of People’s Power for Industries and National Production (MPPIPN) must obtain a COMEX Permit (Legal Regime No. 9) so that the Ministry can issue the Qualifications for Imported Assembly Material for Vehicles (MEIV).
- Supplementary Note 7 of Subchapter I of Chapter 98 of the Customs Tariff was deleted. This note pertained to the classification of goods under heading 98.08, titled “Totally assembled vehicles, chassis, bodies, trailers, and semi-trailers (CBU) from headings 87.01, 87.02, 87.03, 87.04, 87.05, 87.06, 87.07, 87.09, and 87.16.” This classification was previously handled through the Automotive Sector Exemption Certificate. However, heading 9808 was removed in the partial reform of the Customs Tariff on June 30, 2025, thus rendering the note void.
VI. Processing of Legal Regimes Nos. 6 and 13:Legal Regime No. 6, corresponding to the “Health Permit from the Ministry of People’s Power with jurisdiction over productive agriculture and lands,” and No. 13, “Certificate of Health Registry issued by the Ministry of People’s Power with jurisdiction over productive agriculture and lands,” must now be requested through COMEX. Subsequently, COMEX, upon approval from the respective Ministries and the commission’s technical secretariat, will issue the legal regime.
VII. Considerations on Legal Regime 3 – “Health Permit from the Ministry of People’s Power with jurisdiction over health”:The regulation establishes guidelines for requesting said permit for medicines with or without health registration, service medicines, and medicines containing controlled chemical substances.
VIII. Temporary Waiver of Legal Regimes Nos. 9, 11, and 20:A waiver is granted for a period of 30 continuous days from the entry into force of this regulation regarding the requirement of Legal Regimes No. 9 – “Permit from the Presidential Commission, of a permanent nature, known as the FOREIGN TRADE COMMITTEE”; No. 11 – “Permit from the Ministry of People’s Power for Petroleum”; and No. 20 – “Certificate of Registration of Venezuelan COVENIN Standard or Registration of Technical Regulation administered by the Decentralized Service for Standardization, Quality, Metrology, and Technical Regulations (SENCAMER),” only in cases of products whose tariff codes were not subject to said legal regimes prior to the entry into force of this reform Decree.
IX. Entry into Force:It entered into force 5 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
X. Additional Considerations:The products mentioned above are for reference only. It is important for each importer to have the tariff code, commercial description, and technical specifications of their product to verify if it has been affected by any of these regulatory changes.
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