WHARFAGE INCLUSION IN CUSTOMS VALUE

THE CHANGE OF STJ POSITIONING AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS ON COMPANIES

Abstract

International trade is an extremely important field for both global and Brazilian economy. However, several bottlenecks prevent Brazil from becoming more competitive in this sector, such as an inefficient infrastructure, judiciary risks, or the combination of these and other factors. In this respect, the recent case of a change in the STJ's positioning in favor of including wharfage services in the calculation of the Import Tax not only affronts the norms established by the GATT agreement, but also brings several negative economic impacts to companies. In view of this, the present article seeks to analyze this theme, including this change of positioning as one of the existing bottlenecks to the development of foreign trade in Brazil and the aggravation of its inefficiency. To do so, it is analyzed both the economic impacts of the STJ decision and strategies that can be adopted by companies to mitigate the problem, namely two: the judicial one and the use of internal strategies, especially in the financial department. Lastly, it is concluded that there is a need to defend the conformity of norms interpretation to international agreements, also being important the performance of companies themselves in order to adapt to the unpredictable events that makes up the so-called “Brazil cost”.