Customs Reform Targets More Than 12,000 Abandoned Containers Per Year

Ecuador's National Assembly moved a customs-abandonment reform toward second debate after an eight-vote approval in the Economic Development Committee.

The bill reforms the Código Orgánico de la Producción, Comercio e Inversiones (Copci) on customs matters.

Operating Problem

The proposal would activate administrative procedures when goods remain under customs custody for six months.

At Terminal Portuario de Guayaquil (TPG), Asotep reported 184 abandoned containers and 1,656.35 metric tons of loose cargo. It also reported that 65.22% of those containers have been inside TPG for more than five years.

Additional identified cargo includes more than 955 metric tons and 3,722 cubic meters stored for periods longer than five years.

The consolidated proposal identifies more than 12,000 abandoned containers per year and approximately USD 450 million in retained cargo value.

Proposed Destination

The report says goods declared abandoned or seized would have priority destination to public institutions and public companies through free adjudication, even if an auction process had already started.

The bill establishes six causes for declaring definitive abandonment of merchandise.

What To Watch

The pending signal is timing for the second-debate vote. For operators, the material issue is whether clearer deadlines reduce yard occupation, custody costs, and legal uncertainty without concentrating too much discretion in customs administration.