Cargo Forfeiture in Brazil: The Deadlines That Matter

Article 642 of Brazil’s Customs Regulation (Decreto 6.759/2009) gives the importer 90 days from discharge to start customs clearance. If that deadline passes without a declaration being filed, the goods are legally presumed abandoned. The Receita Federal (Brazil’s federal revenue authority) notifies the importer, and if clearance does not resume within the window set by Normative Instruction RFB 2.160/2023, the penalty is forfeiture: the goods become state property and are auctioned, donated or destroyed. For customs brokers and compliance teams at freight forwarders in Brazil, this deadline separates a delayed import from one that ends by force.

Abandonment is a legal presumption with a fixed deadline

The Customs Regulation does not require the importer to declare an intention to abandon the cargo. Abandonment is presumed automatically when the permitted storage time at a bonded facility expires without clearance having started. Each situation has its own deadline, and all of them begin counting from an operational event like discharge or entry into the facility.

In primary zones (seaports and airports), the deadline is 90 days from discharge. Importers clearing goods through Santos, Paranagua, Itajai or Navegantes work against this clock. In secondary zones (dry ports and bonded logistics centers known as CLIAs), the deadline is 75 days from the cargo’s entry into the facility, plus an additional 45 days if clearance has not started, totaling up to 120 days. For goods under a bonded warehouse regime (entreposto aduaneiro), the deadline drops to 45 days after the regime expires. When clearance was already started but the importer interrupted it through action or omission, the deadline is 60 days from the interruption.

In practice, the 90-day deadline in primary zones is the one customs brokers hit most often. A shipment arriving in Santos in July whose importer has not sorted out licensing, or that sits waiting for an import license (LI) to be granted, can cross the threshold in October without anyone noticing. The importer was focused on the license application while the facility’s calendar kept running.

Normative Instruction RFB 2.160/2023 updated the abandonment procedure

Until August 2023, the abandonment procedure followed IN SRF 69/1999, which left gaps in communication timelines and notification requirements. IN RFB 2.160/2023 replaced that rule and spelled out each step.

The bonded facility must notify the Receita Federal within five business days after the permitted storage period expires. At seaports, this notification takes the form of a Ficha de Mercadoria Abandonada (FMA), an abandoned cargo report. At airports, the equivalent is the Documento de Movimentacao de Carga Abandonada (DMCA). Once the facility files the notice, the Receita Federal must notify the importer before issuing a penalty assessment. This notification, required under IN 2.160/2023, tells the importer that the goods are considered abandoned and that clearance can still be requested.

If the importer files a request and the Receita Federal approves it, the importer gets 30 days to register the import declaration and complete clearance. Those 30 days are the last window before forfeiture. If they expire without completion, the Receita Federal issues the penalty assessment and applies forfeiture under Article 689, item XXI, of the Customs Regulation.

Storage charges keep running while the deadline advances

While the goods sit in the bonded facility, the terminal keeps charging storage fees, and those charges accelerate. Brazilian port terminals apply progressive rate tables: the first days cost less per ton, and the daily rate climbs as the storage period grows. In Santos, storage for a 40-foot container can go from around R$ 200 (roughly USD 35) per day in the first two weeks to over R$ 500 (roughly USD 90) per day after 30 days, depending on the terminal and cargo type.

On top of terminal storage, the carrier keeps charging demurrage for the container itself. The freight forwarder receives this charge because the container is under its bill of lading, and passes it on to the importer. When the importer does not pay and does not collect the cargo, the forwarder carries the liability. For low-value shipments, accumulated storage and demurrage can exceed the cargo’s value within a few weeks. At that point, abandonment becomes an economic decision: the importer decides that paying to retrieve the goods is no longer worth it.

The cargo arrival notice at the bonded terminal, known in Brazil as presenca de carga, triggers the terminal’s storage clock. When clearance is delayed by a red channel inspection, a document requirement, or pending licensing, two clocks run at once: storage and abandonment. A customs broker watching both can alert the importer before accumulated costs exceed the cargo’s value.

The importer can resume clearance before forfeiture

Article 643 of the Customs Regulation leaves a way out. Before the forfeiture penalty is applied, the importer can start or resume clearance of the abandoned goods. The catch: they have to pay everything that piled up while the cargo sat idle.

The bill includes import duties (Import Tax, IPI, PIS/COFINS on imports and ICMS, as applicable), plus interest at the SELIC rate and a late-payment penalty of 0.33% per day, capped at 20% of the tax amount. Add accumulated terminal storage charges and, where applicable, a 1% surcharge on the customs value for waiving the penalty. A USD 50,000 shipment sitting for 100 days can generate a total covering duties, a late-payment penalty at the 20% ceiling, three months of progressive storage and carrier demurrage. That number often makes the import financially unviable.

Resuming clearance requires Receita Federal approval. After approval, the importer has 30 days to register the declaration and finish the process. If those 30 days expire without completion, the opportunity closes and the case moves to forfeiture. The customs broker advising the importer at this stage needs a clear picture of the total resumption cost and whether completing clearance within the deadline is realistic. Incomplete licensing documentation or a pending regulatory approval can eat up the entire window.

Forfeiture ends the process and transfers ownership

When the importer does not resume clearance within the deadline, or chooses not to, the Receita Federal issues the penalty assessment and applies forfeiture. The goods become property of the National Treasury and the importer loses ownership.

What happens next depends on the goods. Items with commercial value go to electronic auction run by the Receita Federal. In May 2025, the Receita Federal auctioned seized and abandoned goods across 14 municipalities in Sao Paulo state, including Santos and Guaruja, with lots ranging from electronics and vehicles to industrial equipment, as reported by Agencia Brasil. Perishable goods, goods with health risks, or goods with no commercial value are destroyed. Items with public utility may be donated to government agencies.

Article 698 of the Customs Regulation also allows for a substitute penalty. When the goods cannot be located or have already been consumed, the Receita Federal applies a fine equal to the customs value. In abandonment cases this is rare, because the cargo is typically still at the facility. It comes up more often in forfeitures triggered by other causes, such as fraudulent intermediation.

The freight forwarder and the customs broker share part of the risk

Forfeiture by abandonment does not only affect the importer. The freight forwarder that issued the house B/L is liable to the carrier for the container until the empty equipment is returned. While the cargo sits at the terminal, the carrier charges demurrage and detention to the forwarder, who has limited ability to force retrieval because the goods belong to the importer. In Santos and Paranagua, forwarders routinely accumulate demurrage liabilities on shipments the importer effectively abandoned without notice.

The customs broker, meanwhile, holds a mandate to represent the importer before the Receita Federal. When the importer stops responding and clearance stalls, the broker faces a practical problem: the abandonment deadline keeps running, the Receita Federal will issue its notice, and the broker must decide whether to maintain the mandate or formally withdraw. In some cases, the Receita Federal may question a broker who failed to alert the importer about the approaching deadline, particularly when there were early signs the cargo would be abandoned.

Transferring the cargo to a dry port via DTA (domestic transit bond) is one option when the importer needs more time to resolve document issues, since the secondary zone deadline differs from the primary zone deadline. This decision must be made before the 90-day primary zone deadline expires, and the cost of the transit bond enters the calculation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to abandoned goods at Brazilian customs?

There are two outcomes. If the importer resumes clearance before forfeiture, they pay duties, late-payment penalties, storage charges and a surcharge on the customs value, then complete the import. If they do not, the Receita Federal applies forfeiture and the goods become state property, going to electronic auction, destruction or donation depending on their nature.

How long does an importer have to start customs clearance after discharge?

In primary zones (seaports and airports), 90 days from discharge, per Article 642 of Brazil’s Customs Regulation (Decreto 6.759/2009). In secondary zones (dry ports and bonded logistics centers), 75 days from entry, potentially extending to 120 days. When clearance was started and then interrupted by the importer’s omission, 60 days.

Can an importer recover goods after an abandonment declaration?

Yes, as long as the forfeiture penalty has not yet been applied. Article 643 of the Customs Regulation allows the importer to request the start or resumption of clearance. After Receita Federal approval, the importer has 30 days to file the declaration and complete the process, paying all accumulated duties, penalties and charges.

How Tier2 Cargo tracks the deadline on every shipment

Everything from discharge to the risk of abandonment comes down to the customs broker and the freight forwarder knowing where each shipment stands and how long it has been idle. Tier2 Cargo records 13 operational milestones per shipment, including arrival date and declaration filing date. A shipment with an arrival recorded but no progress toward filing the DI or DUIMP shows up in the open process list, and the gap between dates shows how many days have passed since discharge.

When a forwarder handles volume, per-shipment visibility keeps a stalled cargo from disappearing among dozens of active processes. Accumulated storage and demurrage are recorded in the same process, so the total cost is visible before the abandonment deadline expires.

See how Tier2 Cargo works or get in touch.

The next time an import stalls over pending licensing or incomplete documentation, count the days since discharge. If the number is above 60, the abandonment deadline is closer than it looks. The decision to resume or walk away from clearance needs to account for the full accumulated cost: duties, penalties, storage and demurrage on top of the goods’ value.