The Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) and the Customs Authority have recently implemented a series of measures aimed at simplifying procedures applicable to export operations. These changes are intended to reduce administrative burdens, optimize response times, and provide exporters with greater flexibility in managing their operations.
While these measures represent a step forward in efficiency, they also require operational adjustments that companies must consider in order to avoid potential contingencies.
Key changes
- Elimination of the non-utilization certificate before customs, replaced by the submission of Form OC-7.
- Removal of the L200 (US $ 7.51) fee associated with this certificate.
- Reduction in response times, from up to 3 days to less than 24 hours.
- Greater flexibility in the use of declarations, allowing a single Export Declaration to support multiple DUCAs (and vice versa).
Maintenance of the declaration’s validity, even when changes occur in data such as the customs office of departure, destination, customer, or shipment date.
What are the benefits of these changes?
These measures introduce tangible improvements:
- Reduced administrative burden by eliminating unnecessary documentation requirements.
- Lower recurring costs, particularly for high-volume operations.
- Increased logistical agility, by shortening processing times with authorities.
- Greater commercial flexibility, allowing adjustments without the need to reprocess documentation.
Overall, these changes enable a more dynamic management of export operations, better aligned with the realities of international trade.
What should companies keep in mind?
Simplification does not eliminate control obligations. On the contrary, it requires stronger internal discipline. In particular:
- Ensure consistency of the information declared across all related documents.
- Maintain traceability between declarations and DUCAs, especially under the new flexible framework.
- Validate changes in sensitive data to avoid discrepancies during audits.
- Review and update internal processes, including compliance and customs controls.
These reforms clearly reduce regulatory friction; however, their effective implementation will depend on each company’s ability to adapt its internal processes and take advantage of the new flexibilities without compromising regulatory compliance.
