Overview

The Colombia-Venezuela border is an ongoing international border of 2,219 kilometers that separates the territories of both countries, with a total of 603 milestones that demarcate the line. It is the longest border that both nations share with any other. 

There are several border crossings between Colombia and Venezuela. One of them is in Paraguachón located in the village of Maicao, department of La Guajira, which is also part of the Venezuelan territory. A Land Immigration Check Post is located in the area.

Daily Capacity

The border crossing between Colombia and Venezuela can operate up to 132,000 vehicles per month, an average of almost 4,300 vehicles per day. Border closings have led to a decrease of 27% in imports from the neighboring country, while exports to Venezuela have fallen by 73%. At the time of this analysis, this land border crossing is ranked second in terms of volume of people movement. This city is known for binational trade and manufacturing, footwear and leather industries.

Due to the economic crisis in Venezuela, most Venezuelans buy food and medicine in Colombia and return to Venezuela the same day. Its Free Trade Zone is the most active in the country and all of Latin America, largely due to the fact that Venezuela is Colombia's second-largest trading partner. Although the official currency in Colombia is the peso, due to its proximity to Venezuela, the bolivar is widely accepted by most businesses.

Information provided by a Maicao DIAN official revealed that only freight vehicles are allowed to cross the border, as per the schedule above.

Customs Guidance

Contact Person: DIAN Maicao Sectional Directorate, Paraguachón border crossing.

 Phone Number: 3204909825. 24/7 service

According to Article 90 of Decree 1165 of 2019, all means of transport arriving in the national customs territory must pass through the posts enabled by the Directorate of National Taxes and Customs (DIAN).

Approximate times

Decree 1165 of 2019 establishes that the types of controls for customs procedures are as follows:

• Physical inspection: This inspection lasts 1 working day, i.e. if cargo arrival is on Monday, the vehicle will depart to its destination on Tuesday.
• Documentary inspection: This inspection lasts between 1 and 3 days maximum.
• Automatic inspection: On the same day.

Supporting documents

All documents are specified in Article 349 of Decree 1165 of 2019.

• Shipment authorization form
• Transport form
• Invoice
• Packing list (if applicable)
• Transport documents
• Approval (if applicable)
• Customs mandate

These documents must be kept for 5 years at the customs agency processing the transport operation.

In cases when the transportation does not involve any cargo, public or private service companies transporting passengers only, or when it is a technical stop or landfall, the transporter shall give notice of its arrival to the corresponding customs office, at least 1 hour in advance.

Upon arrival at the border crossing point, travel documents are received and registered right there to present goods to the customs authority. Presented goods are understood as those of foreign origin listed in the Bill of Lading, which is reported via the DIAN web platform and must include at least the following information:

1. Identity of the means of transport
2. Travel information
   1. Origin of goods
   2. Place of destination
   3. Total weight and number of cargo units to be transported
   4. Transport document number
   5. Number and weight of packages
   6. Consolidated cargo indicator

Transport document information submitted via the DIAN web platform. The following information must be included at least for transport and consolidation documents:

1. Consignee taxpayer ID (other than that of the temporary or customs warehouse)
2. Tariff subheading
3. Type of cargo
4. Number and date of the transport document or consolidation document
5. Number, weight and volume of packages, as applicable
6. Cargo unit identity, if applicable
7. Description of goods
8. Other transport contract specifications as required by the National Tax and Customs Directorate

The transporter must provide travel document information via the DIAN web platform before or upon the arrival of the means of transport.

Upon arrival of the means of transport to the national customs territory, the transporter or its authorized representative shall inform such information via the DIAN web platform. After receiving the arrival notice, the DIAN shall authorize the entry of the goods into the national territory. For customs purposes, the goods arrival date shall be the date of the acknowledgment of arrival notice receipt via the Electronic Data Processing platform.

For land transportation, there is no need to present the notice of completion of unloading. For consolidated cargo, the transporter is required to notify the international freight forwarder or multimodal transport operator immediately upon unloading to initiate their corresponding operations under their responsibility.

Finally, during the inspection, compliance between the cargo and the information provided in the bill of lading, as well as the documents supporting the business operation shall be verified, as well as compliance with the requirements set forth in special regulations, without prejudice to the power to conduct any good inspections, whenever DIAN deems it necessary.

At that moment, the import declaration (DUA in Spanish) is submitted via the DIAN web platform and accepted; then customs duties are calculated and paid at a bank or electronic transfer. After confirming declaration payment in the system, the release of goods is requested using the same platform. This release can be by physical or automatic inspection. In the first case, the DIAN inspector must verify that physical goods match the information in documents to finally issue the release and free disposition of goods. In the second case, the release and free disposition of goods are issued immediately.

Contact Person:

DIAN Maicao Sectional Directorate, Paraguachón border crossing. Phone Number: 3204909825. 24/7 service

DIAN Maicao Sectional Directorate Calle 16 San Jorge Military Base 

gestiondocumental@dian.gov.co

Customs operation management department

Head of the Department: José Fonseca Lindao

Additional Information

The crossing on the Colombian side of the border is less crowded. In Venezuelan territory, the Migración Venezuela fences are not as easy to pass as those in Colombia. Venezuelan guards are also on duty to check the entry and exit of people passing through.