Decree 1451, September 4th, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Tourism (MinCIT), sets down the requirements necessary for legal persons to obtain a permit, issued by the Ministry itself, to market abroad goods from micro, small and medium enterprises.

These requisites include:

• The principal purpose of the enterprise should be to market and sell Colombian products, acquired on the domestic market from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) abroad;
• The enterprise must not have any customs duty, tax or foreign exchange debts when it makes its application;
• The company must demonstrate that it has a calendar for implementing a system for managing AML & FT (anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism) risk and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
• The firm must have a positive risk classification assessment from the MinCIT’s Foreign Trade department;
• The company must have an inventory control that enables it to verify and track domestic, imported and exported merchandise.

The authorization received by International Trading Companies (SCI) will have an open-ended term and will be subject to meeting the requirements and obligations set out in the Decree.

In addition, SCIs that have this authorization will be required to constitute a bond payable to the National Taxation & Customs Department (DIAN) for one per cent (1%) of the FOB value of exports made during the twelve (12) months immediately before presenting the request for authorization.

Companies setting themselves up as SCIs have a number of advantages: in particular, they are exempt from Value Added Tax on the domestic purchase or acquisition of goods, provided that these are exported in the following six (6) months; they are not taxed at source; they have access to support services and programs for business people run by participating or related institutions, together with MinCIT programs and support from the Regional Productive Transformation Program in identifying micro, small and medium enterprises that can provide them with their goods.