admission of filming equipment – Fixer in Brazil

Today I got a call from a German based company and they wanted to rent an underwater housing for their camera or a camera with an underwater housing.

As I have said in other posts you should try to rent all your gear in your home country. Specially if you come from Europe or USA just because renting equipment abroad is much cheaper then renting it here in Brazil. That is even more true about higher end gear. So if you need any thing better then a 5D, a D800, C100 or a Sony NX5 you are much better if you hire your gear at home.

But in the case of underwater video equipment things get even more complex as you don’t want to flood rented gear, your gear, or in fact, any gear in the middle of your international shoot. I personally don’t trust any rented housing. You will never know how those seals really are holding until you get it under pressure.

If you really need to rent underwater filming equipment in Brazil my advice is to hire an underwater camera operator that has his own equipment. I can recommend a few world class underwater camera operators with BBC, Nat Geo and Discovery experience.

If you already have an underwater cameraman you should certainly bring the gear with him. We can help you with all the paper work necessary to import your gear to Brazil because we are an ANCINE registered company.

Click here for more information on Customs Clearance.

And click here to find out what services FixerBrazil.com can do for you.

When coming to Brazil to film we recommend that you bring all your gear as accompanied baggage with you in the same flight and declare them to the Customs (Receita Federal) as temporary admission of equipment for temporary activity of a professional with no permanent resident status.
When arriving in a Brazilian airport you need to go to the “Goods to declare” line.
As of January 1, 2022, Brazilian customs has terminated their ATA Carnet operations so you CAN NOT use the ATA Carnet.

Customs clearance is done at the port of entrance, requiring a declaration (Termo de Responsabilidade) signed by the traveler (complete identification must be provided: full name, passport number, address, profession and travel itinerary in Brazil), by which he/she will take responsibility for removing the goods from Brazil, once he/she leaves the country.

An itemized list of the goods (complete description, including as applicable, motor number, make, year, model, serial number and manufacturer; quantity; value for customs purposes in US$ dollars) is required when applying for the temporary admission regime.

Brazilian Customs (Receita Federal) informs that when applying for the Temporary Admission Regime it is recommended that the foreign company contact the Brazilian hosting company or institution in order to send all the necessary information as stated above including the date of arrival, carrier name and flight number. The Brazilian hosting company should then contact the Brazilian Custom Sector at the Port or Airport of arrival in order to expedite in advance the Customs Procedures before the arrival of the merchandise or equipment. The same procedure should also be taken by participants of fairs, exhibitions and expeditions.

Receita Federal also asks that when the goods imported as Temporary Admission items arrive in Brazil as part of the traveler’s baggage, it is recommended that the traveler have on his/her possession a letter stating his/her position in the company, the purpose of the visit and a pro-forma invoice of the merchandise or equipment.

It is very important that when leaving the Brazilian territory, the goods entered as a Temporary Admission items should, before checking-in, be presented to the Brazilian customs office located at the port of departure in order to register this fact in the RFB’S control system

* these regulations do not apply to Unaccompanied luggage so make sure you do not ship them if you want this type of clearance.

Find out more about Filming in Brazil, Permits and Visas in our site.

FixerBrazil.com is part of 10e20 Filmes, an established production company in Brazil with office in São Paulo.

Learn more about:
Fixer in Brazil. São Paulo;
Permits for Filming in Brazil;
Business Visa when filming in Brazil.

Tag: admission of filming equipment

Renting Underwater Video Equipment in Brazil

Customs clearance – admission of filming equipment in Brazil.