Ecuador Customs Reform Adds 25-Day Abandonment Trigger

Effective framework

Customs reforms to Ecuador's Organic Code of Production, Commerce and Investment (Copci) took effect on July 29, 2026. The law was published in the Fifth Supplement No. 336 of the Official Registry.

The changes expand the circumstances in which property may be declared definitively abandoned and modify the state's disposal process for abandoned, seized, or forfeited goods held by the National Customs Service of Ecuador (Senae).

New deadlines

A definitive-abandonment declaration may follow when the cause of a tacit abandonment is not corrected within 25 business days.

Personal effects or taxable goods retained in an international-arrivals area may also be declared abandoned if they are not collected within five days after the traveler enters Ecuador.

For private vehicles temporarily admitted by tourists, the law allows abandonment when the authorized stay is exceeded without a justified delay. If one month passes after detention without the owner starting a recovery or regularization procedure, the vehicle becomes definitively abandoned.

Disposal mechanics

The state will prioritize free allocation of abandoned, seized, or forfeited goods to public institutions and public companies, including cases where an auction has already started.

Goods held for more than one year must be inventoried and valued. Senae must then publish three notices on different days. Claimants who document ownership receive 15 days to present supporting records.

The reform is designed to move inventory out of customs custody, reduce state storage costs, and strengthen administration of goods under Senae control.

Business signal

The legislation raises the cost of documentation delays for importers, freight intermediaries, travelers, and temporary-admission users. It also creates a clearer public-sector disposition channel for long-held inventory.

Companies should review internal escalation procedures for customs holds. A retention notice can now trigger a sequence with defined statutory deadlines and a permanent transfer risk.

What to watch

• Senae implementation guidance by cargo and admission category
• Notification practices for the 25-business-day and five-day triggers
• Volume and value of inventory moved to public entities
• Litigation or administrative appeals involving temporarily imported vehicles

Source: El Universo.