In an unprecedented agreement in the Brazilian market signed in February 2023, Sinerlog, a cross border technology company, and SGS, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification of companies, announce a partnership for the development of the electronic invoice for the international e-invoice trade.
According to IDV (Institute for the Development of Retail), cross-border operations have celebrated at a rapid pace year after year, with tax evasion jumping from BRL 22 billion in 2020 to approximately BRL 36 billion in 2021, due to the drastic increase in remittances from abroad.
Brazil accounts for more than 40% of all Latin America online sales and is one of the top 10 markets of most interest to retailers looking to expand abroad. However, the increase in imports and the appreciation of the exchange rate against the real have drawn attention to the increase in fraud in import operations. Combating import irregularities, especially customs fraud, is one of the great challenges for governments and the private sector.
The recurrent practice of falsifying documents submitted to the Federal Revenue Service( Customs ), whether for the values presented, or even false statements about content and/or customs classification, are the main problems encountered.
The e-Invoice consists on a single document, which will guarantee the issuance, unification and standardization of all data in a single document signed and certified. The document guarantees the traceability and reliability of information about the buyer, seller and the product, in addition to the entire financial trail of the transaction, validating the data and guaranteeing the integrity and validity of the documents.
To guarantee the authenticity of the seller, it goes through a certification process that checks a series of documents and information, such as whether the company exists at the indicated address, whether it operates in the market regularly, whether it can really sell that product of that brand and a series of other criteria that can go as far as certifying whether or not the company uses forced labor. The process can be compared to issuing a digital certificate for an electronic invoice, but with much more sophisticated checking criteria.
The Cross-border e-Invoice is an electronic document in a prescribed format between a supplier and a buyer located in two different countries. It is generated automatically and in real-time by SGS’ Platform using the actual transaction data; upon its issuance, the e-Invoice is digitally secured, stored on an independent server and transmitted electronically to all the stakeholders.
Prior to any eCommerce transaction, SGS authenticates each Vendor by the verification of official registration documents to guarantee that the vendor is a legally constituted company authorized to operate in its country of residence.
The Cross Border E-Invoice will play a central role to enhance trust; for the Competent Authorities it will facilitate the inspection and it can be transferred automatically to the Customs Management System for pre-clearance, reliable calculation of Duties and Taxes and, last but not least, enable financial authorities to approve payment in foreign currencies.
All documents generated are digital and easy to process and transmit, in addition to simple integration through an API with the strictest control and security standards.
With e-Invoice, the possibility of tampering with the document is practically zero. The document came to deal with exchange evasion issues, transactional security and offer compliance for new companies to enter the market.
e-Invoice complies with the new Customs regulation, Normative Instruction No. 2.124, aims to provide legal certainty, offering equal rules and procedural guarantees to everyone.
With the document, it is possible for Customs to monitor global sellers and supervise digital retail through information from the platform or financial transaction.
Logistic agents also begin to share data on international shipments, making it possible to organize the chain from end to end, streamlining handling and ensuring transparency for the consumer.
The good news is that today there are ready-made cutting-edge technologies like Sinerlog’s, which integrate all the actors in the chain: from the warehouse and airport to the destination market, and all transaction needs, from portfolios, security processes, inventory, customs processes, management and compliance.
Sinerlog’s Cross Commerce platform supports the adaptation of entrepreneurs to this new process and standardizes the market, as sales grow significantly and operations become increasingly complex.
In a digital society, innovation is essential for the most diverse segments and ensures the health and expansion of businesses.
