# Law No. 4245 of July 20, 1963

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105647868](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105647868)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-4245-of-july-20-1963

## Summary
Law No. 4245 of July 20, 1963 is a Brazilian federal statute that establishes regulations concerning tariffs, tax exemptions, and import taxes. Promulgated by President João Goulart during Brazil's pre-military rule era, this formal written document represents a legislative act governing customs and trade policy. The law is publicly accessible online through the official Planalto government portal and is cataloged in Brazil's Lexml legal identification system.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 4245, de 20 de julho de 1963
- **Date of Promulgation:** July 20, 1963
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **President at Time of Approval:** João Goulart
- **Legal Classification:** Instance of a "statute" (formal written document that creates law)
- **Main Subjects:** Tariff (Taxa Aduaneira), tax exemption (Isenção), and import tax (Imposto De Importação)
- **Jurisdiction:** Applies to Brazil (Federative Republic of Brazil)
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 4245/1963
- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-07-20;4245
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4245.htm
- **Copyright Status:** As an official legislative enactment, the law is in the public domain under the edict of government doctrine
- **Document Type:** Formal written document encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws as manifestation of statutory law

## FAQs
**What is Law No. 4245 of July 20, 1963?**
Law No. 4245 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated on July 20, 1963, that creates legal regulations governing customs tariffs, import taxes, and tax exemption frameworks. As a formal written document, it functions as the official manifestation of statutory law in Brazil's legal system.

**What specific areas does this law regulate?**
The law addresses three primary subjects: customs tariffs (Taxa Aduaneira), tax exemptions (Isenção), and import taxes (Imposto De Importação), establishing the legal framework for Brazil's customs and foreign trade taxation policies during the early 1960s.

**Who approved this law and under what political context?**
President João Goulart approved the law on July 20, 1963, during his tenure leading Brazil's federal republic. This occurred during Brazil's democratic period before the 1964 military coup, when the country operated under a presidential representative democracy with its capital in Brasília.

**Where can the full text of this law be accessed?**
The complete text is available at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4245.htm, hosted on the Planalto government portal. The law is also cataloged in Brazil's Lexml system under the identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-07-20;4245.

**What type of legal document is this and how is it classified?**
This is a "statute," classified as a formal written document that creates law and serves as a subclass of written work, document, and rule. It is an instance of a legal term or legal concept that functions as a manifestation of statutory law, distinct from broader concepts of legislation or legal act.

**In what language was this law originally written?**
The law was originally written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, which is spoken by over 213 million people and serves as the primary language for all official government documents and legislative acts.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 4245 of July 20, 1963 matters because it represents a concrete example of Brazil's statutory framework for customs and trade regulation during a pivotal historical period. As a federal statute governing tariffs and import taxation, it directly impacted Brazil's international trade relationships and domestic economic policy at a time when the country was establishing itself as a major South American economy. The law's existence within Brazil's legal system demonstrates how the Federative Republic of Brazil exercises legislative authority through formal written documents that create binding legal norms. Its accessibility through modern digital platforms like the Planalto portal and Lexml system exemplifies Brazil's commitment to governmental transparency and public access to legal texts, ensuring that citizens, businesses, and legal practitioners can reference the exact statutory language governing customs duties and tax exemptions. The law's public domain status under the edict of government doctrine reinforces the principle that official legal documents belong to the public, enabling unrestricted dissemination and citation. Furthermore, this statute illustrates the structure of Brazilian federal legislation, showing how specific economic policies are codified through numbered laws promulgated by the presidency and applied nationwide, contributing to the predictable legal environment necessary for Brazil's role in global trade networks and its membership in international organizations like the WTO and Mercosur.

## Notable For
- **Historical Timing:** Promulgated during João Goulart's presidency in 1963, just months before Brazil's 1964 military coup, representing legislation from the final phase of Brazil's early republican democratic period
- **Specific Economic Focus:** Dedicated exclusively to customs and import taxation matters, making it a specialized statutory instrument within Brazil's broader tax code
- **Digital Accessibility:** Available online through Brazil's official Planalto government portal, demonstrating modern public access to historical legislation
- **Standardized Identification:** Cataloged in Brazil's Lexml system with a unique URN identifier (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-07-20;4245), following international standards for legal document identification
- **Federal Scope:** Applies to the entire Federative Republic of Brazil, encompassing all 26 states plus the Federal District, rather than being limited to local or state-level jurisdiction
- **Public Domain Status:** Exempt from copyright restrictions as an official legislative enactment, ensuring free reproduction and distribution
- **Precise Legal Citation:** Uses the standardized Brazilian citation format "Lei nº 4245/1963" for unambiguous legal referencing
- **Capital City Origin:** Published in Brasília, which became Brazil's capital in 1960, making this one of the laws issued from the relatively new federal capital during its early years

## Body

### Legal Classification and Nature
Law No. 4245 of July 20, 1963 is formally classified as a **statute**, which represents a foundational legal concept defined as a formal written document that creates law. As a statutory instrument, it functions as the concrete manifestation of statutory law within Brazil's legal system, distinguishing it from abstract notions of law or legislation. The document belongs to the subclass of written works, documents, and rules, and contains legal norms as constituent parts. Its creation follows draft laws and results from the legislative process, ultimately producing statutory law that governs customs and taxation matters. The statute serves as Brazil's equivalent to the schema.org Legislation class, making it a standardized entity in global knowledge systems with identifiers including Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611 and GND ID 4020660-9.

### Historical and Political Context
The law emerged during João Goulart's presidency, who served as the 24th President of Brazil from 1961 to 1964. Goulart's approval of this legislation on July 20, 1963 occurred in Brasília, the federal capital that had been inaugurated just three years earlier on April 22, 1960. This timing places the law within Brazil's brief democratic interlude between the 1946 constitution and the 1964 military coup that established authoritarian rule until 1985. The statute represents federal legislation enacted by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, operating under Brazil's presidential representative democratic system where the president serves as both head of state and head of government. The law predates Brazil's current 1988 Constitution but remains part of the historical statutory record accessible through modern legislative databases.

### Subject Matter and Scope
The statute's primary focus centers on three interconnected economic policy areas:
- **Customs Tariffs (Taxa Aduaneira):** Establishes the legal framework for duties imposed on imported goods crossing Brazil's borders
- **Tax Exemptions (Isenção):** Defines criteria and procedures for exemption from customs duties and import taxes
- **Import Taxes (Imposto De Importação):** Regulates taxation on foreign goods entering Brazilian territory

These subjects reflect Brazil's trade policy priorities during the early 1960s, when the country was developing its industrial base and managing balance-of-payments concerns. The law applies to the entire jurisdiction of Brazil, encompassing its 8,515,767 km² territory that borders ten countries and includes major ports along its Atlantic coastline. As federal legislation, it overrides any conflicting state or local regulations, ensuring uniform customs policy across all 26 states and the Federal District.

### Publication and Accessibility
The law was officially published in Brasília on July 20, 1963, and remains accessible through multiple channels. The primary source is the Planalto government portal at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4245.htm, which hosts the complete text as part of Brazil's digital legislative archive covering laws from 1950-1969. This accessibility exemplifies Brazil's implementation of the edict of government doctrine, which places official legal documents in the public domain. The law's publication in Brazilian Portuguese ensures comprehension by the country's population of over 213 million people, maintaining the constitutional principle that laws must be promulgated in the official language to be binding.

### Identification and Cataloging
The statute carries multiple standardized identifiers that facilitate legal research and citation:
- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-07-20;4245 (following the URN:LEX standard for Brazilian legislation)
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 4245/1963 (the conventional short form used in Brazilian legal practice)
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law (categorized under WikiProject Brazilian Laws)
- **Publication Reference:** Documented in the Presidency's legislative database with timestamped retrieval dates

These identifiers connect the law to global knowledge systems, including library catalogs using Dewey Decimal classifications 342.057 and 348.02 for statutes, and authority control systems like the Bibliothèque nationale de France (ID 120485802) and National Library of Spain (XX528757).

### Jurisdictional Application and Legal Effect
As a federal statute, Law No. 4245 applies to the entire Federative Republic of Brazil, a sovereign state that has maintained continuous independence since September 7, 1822. The law's provisions bind all entities within Brazil's jurisdiction, including individuals, corporations, and government agencies involved in import activities. Its enactment through presidential promulgation on July 20, 1963 activated its legal force, making it part of Brazil's statutory law corpus. The law interacts with Brazil's broader legal framework, including the Constitution of Brazil (effective October 5, 1988, but building on pre-existing statutes), the National Congress of Brazil (comprising Federal Senate and Chamber of Deputies that would have participated in the legislative process), and the Supreme Federal Court (which interprets such statutes). The law remains subject to amendment, repeal, or supersession by subsequent legislation, but its historical text persists as a reference point for understanding Brazil's customs policy evolution.

### Relationship to Brazilian Governance Structure
The statute reflects Brazil's federal republic structure, where the Union holds authority over customs and interstate commerce. Its promulgation by the Presidency demonstrates the executive's role in the final stage of legislation, following debate and approval in the National Congress. The law exists within a legal system where Portuguese is the sole official language, ensuring uniform interpretation across a country spanning four time zones (UTC-02:00 to UTC-05:00) and diverse regions from the Amazon basin to the Atlantic coast. As part of Brazil's statutory framework, it contributes to the legal infrastructure supporting Brazil's economy, which ranks as Latin America's largest and maintains extensive international trade relationships with over 160 countries.

### Preservation and Research Value
Law No. 4245 remains preserved in Brazil's official legislative archives and digital repositories, making it accessible for historical research, legal precedent analysis, and comparative law studies. Its inclusion in the Lexml system ensures permanent identification and retrieval, while its public domain status enables unrestricted academic and commercial use. The law serves as a primary source document for understanding Brazil's economic policy during the Goulart administration, trade regulation methodologies, and the evolution of customs law in South America's largest economy. Researchers can access the law through the Planalto portal, cite it using its standardized citation format, and locate it through international library systems that catalog Brazilian legislation under authority control identifiers.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-07-20;4245)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=4245&ano=1963&data=20/07/1963&ato=809MTVq50MVRVTacc)