Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) has released preliminary results from the 2025 edition of "Operação Fronteira RFB", the country-wide enforcement sweep that mobilises customs officers, sniffer-dog units and mobile scanners at airports, land crossings and seaports. In the first seven days of the multi-agency operation (20-27 October) inspectors intercepted more than R$ 94 million (US$ 18 million) in undeclared or prohibited goods, the highest amount ever recorded for an opening week since the programme began in 2017.
According to the Finance Ministry, seizures ranged from high-end electronics and designer handbags to bulk shipments of untaxed tobacco, counterfeit medicines, wildlife products and narcotics. The largest single bust involved 800 smartphones hidden in false vehicle panels at the Foz do Iguaçu land border with Paraguay. Air-cargo hubs in São Paulo (GRU) and Manaus also saw a spike in parcels falsely declared as “personal effects” that, on inspection, contained medical devices and luxury watches.
Officials attribute the record haul to a new risk-profiling algorithm that cross-matches airline and maritime manifests with tax-compliance data, as well as real-time intelligence sharing with the Federal Police. The system flags shipments for secondary screening before cargo is released, tightening the window that smugglers traditionally exploit.
For corporate mobility managers the heightened vigilance means longer clearance times for unaccompanied personal effects and temporary-import (carnet) shipments. Receita Federal advises companies to register move-management providers on the Importador Web platform in advance and to ensure invoices match HS-code descriptions to avoid delays.
Operação Fronteira will continue until mid-November, overlapping with the arrival of thousands of foreign delegates for COP30 in Belém. Customs authorities say they will maintain separate fast-track lanes for accredited passengers carrying the new COP30 e-Visa, but remind travellers that commercial samples and professional equipment remain subject to inspection and duty if documentation is incomplete.
According to the Finance Ministry, seizures ranged from high-end electronics and designer handbags to bulk shipments of untaxed tobacco, counterfeit medicines, wildlife products and narcotics. The largest single bust involved 800 smartphones hidden in false vehicle panels at the Foz do Iguaçu land border with Paraguay. Air-cargo hubs in São Paulo (GRU) and Manaus also saw a spike in parcels falsely declared as “personal effects” that, on inspection, contained medical devices and luxury watches.
Officials attribute the record haul to a new risk-profiling algorithm that cross-matches airline and maritime manifests with tax-compliance data, as well as real-time intelligence sharing with the Federal Police. The system flags shipments for secondary screening before cargo is released, tightening the window that smugglers traditionally exploit.
For corporate mobility managers the heightened vigilance means longer clearance times for unaccompanied personal effects and temporary-import (carnet) shipments. Receita Federal advises companies to register move-management providers on the Importador Web platform in advance and to ensure invoices match HS-code descriptions to avoid delays.
Operação Fronteira will continue until mid-November, overlapping with the arrival of thousands of foreign delegates for COP30 in Belém. Customs authorities say they will maintain separate fast-track lanes for accredited passengers carrying the new COP30 e-Visa, but remind travellers that commercial samples and professional equipment remain subject to inspection and duty if documentation is incomplete.
