Customs clearance in Brazil: channels and regulators
Filing the declaration is one step. Whether it gets pulled for inspection, and which agency has to sign off before that inspection clears, depends on the channel and the category, not on the declaration itself.
The short answer
Two separate questions decide whether a shipment clears smoothly. First, which inspection channel does the declaration draw: verde, amarelo, vermelho or cinza, decided by risk-based selection at filing. Second, which agency, if any, has to grant an administrative control, an LPCO, before the declaration can even be registered. Getting the accreditation question settled is covered on RADAR and Siscomex; this page covers what happens after that, at the point of clearance itself.
The four channels
Brazilian customs selects each declaration into one of four channels under IN SRF 680/2006 article 21 and the Receita Federal's Manual de Despacho de Importação, "Seleção parametrizada": verde, released without further review; amarelo, document review only; vermelho, document review plus physical inspection of the cargo; and cinza, document review, physical inspection, and a specific check for signs of fraud. Material describing only three channels, green, yellow and red, is missing cinza, and a shipment selected into it faces a materially different process than one in vermelho.
LPCO and where it sits in the sequence
Where a product needs sign-off from a consenting agency, ANVISA, MAPA or another, that sign-off takes the form of an LPCO, Licenças, Permissões, Certificados e Outros Documentos, issued through Portal Único. The sequencing matters: for MAPA-controlled goods the LPCO has to be granted before the Duimp is registered, not requested afterward and resolved in parallel, per the Portaria MAPA 835/2025 Q&A. This replaces the older DI-era flow, where the equivalent administrative control ran through the LI, the import licence, filed and cleared before the declaration.
The declaration itself is moving from DI to Duimp on a published schedule; see RADAR and Siscomex for the current shutdown dates rather than repeating them here, since that page tracks the live schedule.
Which regulator applies, by category
The table below shows what has to be settled before the first shipment of a category, and what runs with every shipment after that. It is a starting map, not a substitute for checking your own NCM code.
| Category | Regulator | Before the first shipment | With each shipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish and seafood, dairy, meat, honey | MAPA/DIPOA; RIISPOA (Decreto 9.013/2017, article 486) | Country's control system recognised for that product area; foreign plant on the habilitação list (PGA-SIGSIF); product and label registered with DIPOA | Veterinary certificate in the agreed form; LPCO; Vigiagro documentary analysis; SIF reinspection before the goods can be sold |
| Biscuits, wafers, chocolate | ANVISA food track (RDC 843/2024, IN 281/2024) | No MAPA plant approval; these categories sit on the Comunicação track under IN 281/2024 Anexo III | Label compliant with RDC 727/2022; whether an ANVISA consent applies per shipment depends on the specific NCM; a formulation with significant dairy or egg content is checked product by product, since the acts set no fixed percentage threshold |
| Grains | MAPA plant health; IN MAPA 23/2004 (risk categories), IN MAPA 06/2005 | Product on the list of goods with published phytosanitary requirements for the origin country; otherwise a pest risk analysis (ARP) has to run first and be published in the DOU | Phytosanitary certificate where required; MAPA consent (LI or LPCO); Vigiagro inspection; official classification standard where one exists under Lei 9.972/2000 |
| Wine, beer, spirits | MAPA; Lei 8.918/1994, Lei 7.678/1988 | Importer and product registration with MAPA | No published timeline for this step |
Food of animal origin no longer needs prior import authorisation as a separate gate: since 8 April 2024, documents run through the LPCO module, Vigiagro performs remote documentary analysis, and SIF reinspection happens before sale, under IN SDA/MAPA 34/2018 article 14 and Ofício-Circular Conjunto nº 01/DIPOA-DTEC/2024. The foreign plant still has to sit on the habilitação list and the product and label still have to be registered with DIPOA before the first shipment.
What is pending, not yet in force
A single import regulation covering importer registration, reinspection and recall procedures is out for public consultation: Portaria SDA/MAPA 1.562/2026 opened a 45-day consultation, extended by Portaria SDA/MAPA 1.585/2026 for a further 30 days. As of 23 September 2026 no final act had been published; this detail is reached through a secondary summary (ac24agro, a SINDASP DOU digest) rather than the consultation text directly. Treat it as pending, not current.
The ministry's current name is Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária, under Lei 14.600/2023, replacing the older names still used in some material.
Sources
- Customs channels: IN SRF 680/2006 article 21; Receita Federal, Manual de Despacho de Importação, "Seleção parametrizada."
- LPCO sequencing for MAPA-controlled goods: Portaria MAPA 835/2025, Q&A published on gov.br/agricultura.
- Food of animal origin, post-8 April 2024 procedure: IN SDA/MAPA 34/2018, article 14; Ofício-Circular Conjunto nº 01/DIPOA-DTEC/2024; PGA-SIGSIF, the foreign plant lookup, sistemas.agricultura.gov.br.
- Regulator-by-category table: gov.br/agricultura (Autorização de Importação, POA comestíveis, updated 14 November 2025); RDC 843/2024 and IN 281/2024 for the ANVISA food track; IN MAPA 23/2004 and IN MAPA 06/2005 for grain risk categories; Lei 8.918/1994 and Lei 7.678/1988 for wine, beer and spirits.
- Pending consolidated import regulation: secondary sources (ac24agro, a SINDASP DOU digest); no final act confirmed as of 23 September 2026.
- Ministry's current name: Lei 14.600/2023.
Rates and procedural detail verified 23-24 September 2026. Check the live schedule on RADAR and Siscomex for the DI-to-Duimp transition before assuming which declaration applies to a specific shipment.
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See the service →Frequently asked questions
How many customs inspection channels does Brazil use?
Four: verde (green, released without review), amarelo (yellow, document review), vermelho (red, document and physical inspection), and cinza (grey, documents, physical inspection and specific checks for signs of fraud), under IN SRF 680/2006 article 21. Material describing only three channels, green, yellow and red, is missing the fourth.
What is LPCO and when does it have to be granted?
Licenças, Permissões, Certificados e Outros Documentos, the administrative control a consenting agency issues for a specific shipment. Where a consenting agency applies, the LPCO has to be granted before the Duimp is registered, not after, per the Portaria MAPA 835/2025 Q&A for MAPA-controlled goods. In the older DI flow, the equivalent control ran through the LI, the import licence, instead.
Do all food products need MAPA approval before the first shipment?
No. It depends on the category. Fish, seafood, dairy, meat and honey need MAPA/DIPOA clearance and a registered plant before the first shipment. Biscuits, wafers and chocolate run through ANVISA's Comunicação track instead, with no MAPA plant approval. See the regulator table below for what applies before the first shipment versus with each one.
Is prior import authorisation still required for food of animal origin?
No, not since 8 April 2024. Documents now run through the LPCO module in Portal Único, Vigiagro performs remote documentary analysis, and SIF reinspection happens before the goods can be sold, under IN SDA/MAPA 34/2018 article 14 and the Ofício-Circular Conjunto nº 01/DIPOA-DTEC/2024. The foreign plant still has to be on the habilitação list and the product and label registered with DIPOA beforehand.
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