SENAE issues reasonable doubt manual for imports in Ecuador

The National Customs Service of Ecuador (SENAE) issued the documented procedure SENAE-MEE-2-02-054-V1, titled “Specific Manual for the Application of the Reasonable Doubt Process on Imported Goods.” The decision is contained in Resolution No. SENAE-SENAE-2026-0069-RE, signed on September 21, 2026, in Guayaquil and published in the Supplement of the Official Registry No. 383 on Monday, October 5, 2026, on page 45.

The instrument was signed by engineer Luis Eduardo Váscones Boloña, Director General of SENAE, appointed by Executive Decree No. 483 on August 26, 2026. The resolution is based on literal l) of article 216 of the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investment (COPCI), which empowers the Director General to issue, by resolution, the regulations, manuals, and instructions necessary for operational, administrative, procedural, and customs valuation aspects.

Concurrent control over the declared value

The manual establishes the sequential steps that foreign trade operators and customs officers must follow in the reasonable doubt process. Its scope covers customs declarations under the import for consumption regime, with the exception of imports carried out under article 125 of the COPCI.

The procedure is activated when a declaration presents an alert or risk regarding the customs value of the imported goods during concurrent control. All management is carried out through Ecuapass, the SENAE computer system, with the stated objective of guaranteeing comprehensive and expeditious control.

Prior socialization and repeal of the 2023 manual

Prior to its issuance, project PD-00008-2026 was socialized through Bulletin No. 90 on September 9, 2026, via the Customs Library, between September 9 and 15, 2026, inclusive.

The regulation is supported by Resolution No. SENAE-SENAE-2026-0018-RE, issued on March 9, 2026, which established the “General Manual for the Application of the Reasonable Doubt Process,” published in the First Supplement of the Official Registry No. 245 on March 17, 2026. Its sole transitional provision granted the National Directorate of Continuous Improvement and Information Technologies a six-month period to update the documented procedures and execute the IT adjustments for the import for consumption regime.

Resolution No. SENAE-SENAE-2026-0069-RE nullifies procedure SENAE-MEE-2-2-049-V1, “Specific Manual for the Application of Valuation of Imported Goods,” issued by Resolution No. SENAE-SENAE-2023-0071-RE on September 4, 2023, and published in the Third Supplement of the Official Registry No. 397 on September 15, 2023.

Delegation of Signatures for Procedures in Guayaquil

On the same official day, Official Registry No. 383 published Resolution No. SENAE-DDG-2026-0679-RE, dated September 17, 2026, signed by Mr. Hugo Cristian Alvear Márquez, GYEM District Director. This regulation expands the delegation contained in Resolution 4084 of December 30, 2010, originally granted by the then district director Fabián Soriano Idrovo.

The expansion applies to:

• The Deputy Zone Director of Air Cargo of the Air Cargo Zone Sub-directorate.
• The Dispatch Director of the Air Cargo Zone Sub-directorate.

Both officials are authorized for the approval, rejection, and electronic signature of three process documents: the “Initiation of reasonable doubt,” the “Preliminary Results Report,” and the “Final Results Report,” in accordance with articles 11, 13, and 15 of Resolution No. SENAE-SENAE-2026-0018-RE.

Validity and Dissemination

The resolution enters into force upon its signing, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Registry. The General Secretariat Directorate of SENAE must disseminate it internally and publish it in the Digital Tax Gazette and the Customs Library, within the “GDE - Dispatch Management” process, sub-process “GDE – Reasonable doubt.”

The Information Technology Directorate, for its part, will publish the resolution and the manual in the Knowledge Management System (SAC) of Ecuapass. The resolution includes copies to dispatch directors of Quito, Guayaquil, Tulcán, Latacunga, and Manta, among other departments.

The new manual organizes the procedure faced by importers when customs questions the declared value of their merchandise. By replacing the valuation manual in effect since 2023, it redefines the steps, the responsible parties, and the electronic signatures of the process; therefore, foreign trade operators must adjust their declarations and supporting documentation to the requirements of procedure SENAE-MEE-2-02-054-V1.

Source: Supplement of the Official Registry No. 383, Monday, October 5, 2026, p. 45 (official reference: SENAE-SENAE-2026-0069-RE).