Court Finds Administrative Authority’s Silence in SIMI Requests is Unreasonable

In “Mazel Toys SA c/ EN-Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo-Secretaría de Industria, Economía del Conocimiento y Gestión Comercial Externa y otro s/ Medida Cautelar” (File No. CAF 11897/2020), Division III of the Federal Court of Appeals held that clearance, processing, and release of merchandise pending approval in the Comprehensive Import Monitoring System (the “SIMI” after its acronym in Spanish) must not be subject to an “APPROVED” license in light of delays on the administrative authority’s part.

In the case at law, an importer had submitted multiple requests through the SIMI system to duly process non-automatic import licenses. These filings were uploaded and subsequently blocked by the Industry Authority for months without explicit approval or rejection. The importer then requested an injunction asking for authorization to bypass the “APPROVED” license requirement to be able to declare the imports in question before Customs.

The importer contended that the authorities had failed to meet the 10-day term stipulated in Section 4 of Resolution 4185/18 to authorize or reject the registration in the SIMI and that the delay was in violation of the GATT/WTO Licensing Agreement.

Against this backdrop, both the lower and appellate court ruled for the importer who had duly submitted all the required information through the SIMI, including relevant applications to obtain the non-automatic import licenses in question. And the authorities had failed to issue a timely decision on the importer's filings and to notify the importer of any additional requirement that could justify the delay.

Lastly, the Court of Appeals held that the authority’s behavior constituted a “de facto administrative imposition” that affected the plaintiff’s rights by factually and arbitrarily blocking the imports without legal grounds.