By: Alfredo Roque
On September 6th, 2022, the General Direction of Customs Services (DGA, by its acronyms in Spanish), issued Technical Circular CT/116/2022 “Prohibition on the import and export of electronic cigarettes and other control measures on tobacco imports”.
The Technical Circular states that products related to electronic nicotine administration systems, electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, and other similar devices with or without nicotine are prohibited in the national territory, therefore it will be retained, confiscated by the customs authorities, and delivered to the National Authority for Sanitary Regulation (ANRS by its acronyms in Spanish).
If any of these devices are identified on its import/export process, the customs authorities must proceed to “detail the related products and prepare a retention certificate”, which will be signed and stamped by the Customs Administrator and then sent to the National Sanitary Regulation Authority (ANRS)”.
In addition, the Technical Circular regulates the Registry of Tobacco Importers and Exporters before the National Sanitary Regulation Authority, establishing that:
- economic operators
- All companies that operate under the free zone regime, temporary admission for inward processing; and
- Free store operators, which are engaged in the manufacture, import and export of tobacco products and their derivatives in the national territory, must be registered before the Health Regulation Direction of the National Sanitary Regulation Authority (ANRS).
Also, it provides that the registration for companies dedicated to the manufacture, import and export, as well as the sanitary registration of tobacco products and their derivatives, will be mandatory, since customs clearance of this type of merchandise cannot be carried out under any customs regime, including customs transit requested by companies that don´t have their proper registration before the “ANRS”.
Likewise stablish that the granting processes of licenses and special permits for the manufacture, import and export of tobacco products and their derivatives must be processed before the “ANRS”, prior compliance of the requirements for business registration, health registration, packaging, and labeling of tobacco products.
Finally, the Technical Circular stablish that companies dedicated to the manufacture, import and export of tobacco products and their accessories that are responsible for illicit trade and that fail to comply with the current legal requirements related “must bear the costs caused by the destruction of seized tobacco products”, whose responsibility is exclusive to the Ministry of Health (MINSA) under the appropriate measures.
For more information on this and other legal issues, contact LatinAlliance Nicaragua, Lawyers and Notaries, at the following email address: aroque@latinalliance.co