The tool is being built by Hyperledger Fabric, and the project expects to establish the first Smart Contract between Brazil and Uruguay
Hyperledger Fabric, a Blockchain implementation by Linux, is intended for developing applications or solutions. It uses container technology to introduce smart contracts that include the application logic of the system.
Brazil is planning to use a register based on Blockchain technology in order to manage the foreign trade with its partners from “Mercosul” or South Common Market (called “Mercosur” in Spanish-American countries). This information was made public last week through a statement issued by the startup that is responsible for the technological development of the project.
The Federal Revenue Service (RFB are its initials in Portuguese) is in charge of the plan with the support of the local startup Servicio de Procesamiento de Datos or Data Processing Service (Serpro), says the statement. The tool is designed to create immutable registers that guarantee the integrity of the data exchanged in the commercial operations between Brazil and its partners abroad.
According to the information, the application, provisionally called bCONNECT, is in its testing phase. The prototype of the system was presented at a “Mercosur” meeting held from April 22nd to 23rd this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
bCONNECT allows a network to share registration information of companies certified by the Federal Revenue Service as an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) and enjoy benefits such as facilitation of customs procedures, in both Brazil and abroad.
It is should be noted that “Mercosur” is an organization for the regional integration that is comprised by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However, it exerts influence over all South America, since Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana and Surinam also participate within the bloc under the category of Associated States.
The new system will allow sending data from Brazilian companies certified by the RFB as Authorized Economic Operator (AEO). Similarly, it will allow the revenue-collecting entity to consult the certification or foreign companies. The auditor or the Brazilian revenue-collecting entity, Sérgio Alencar, says that, in the current phase, Brazilian data are being fed into the register.
The RFB Fiscal Auditor, Ronald Thompson, considers that Blockchain technology has allowed the system to provide a federative model of collaboration between nations. This makes people think that the last goal of Brazil would be to transform a project into a regional standard.
In this sense, the statement indicates that data from certified companies (OEA) would be fed into the tools developed by Hyperledger Fabric, in each of the countries that are part of the network. The rules for the access and visibility of information will be programed in a Smart Contract, in accordance with bilateral agreements established between the parties. In the same vein, the data would be replicated within a federated Blockchain, comprised by the nodes of “Mercosur” member countries.
Although no tentative dates are specified, it is expected that the development of the network and the establishment of Smart Contracts between Brazil and Uruguay will occur, once the testing phase is completed. According to the information, the results of this stage will give way to the introduction of the application to the rest of the countries of the regional bloc.
By Willmen Blanco
