As a result of the operations carried out by the Superintendence of Tax Administration to stop smuggling, in recent days there have been two attacks on the customs area of Tecún Umán I, on the border between Guatemala and Mexico.
According to information provided by the Guatemalan authorities, on November 13 and 17, groups of alleged smugglers attacked the customs of Tecún Umán I in San Marcos, because in the operations deployed by the tax authority, merchandise was seized that was not declared upon entry into the country.
In Nicaragua, the guild of transporters reports that in the customs of the country is reviewed 40% of cargo trucks, a situation causing delays because the international standard is to inspect a maximum of 10% of units.
Managers of the Association of Nicaraguan Transporters (ATN) reported that since the beginning of the political and social crisis in the country in April 2018, the time for a truck to enter Nicaraguan borders has increased and carriers can spend up to a day.
In the view of businessmen in Guatemala, the country has become a connection center for merchandise that is transported illegally from the Colon Free Zone, in Panama, to the Corozal Free Zone, in Belize.
The customs union proposes creating a special customs office for goods such as parcels and used products, which require more complex and slower revisions than the other products.
Elheraldo.hn reports that "...The Fenaduanah believes that the creation of a special customs tax for high-risk goods will facilitate trade of other imported goods."
Added to the factors already deteriorating competitiveness in the export sector are increased thefts of merchandise on the country's roads and infiltration of drug trafficking in exports.
The National Chamber of Cargo Carriers (Canatrac) reports that attacks on trucks on roads in the country have increased since 2012.They state "... on average 12 assaults used to be committed per year, however the figure has risen to 20 in recent years'."
Intervention on the part of the Mexican government is being demanded in order to resolve conflicts that are preventing the free transport of goods in the Central American territory.
From a statement from issued by Agexport in Guatemala:
Free zone companies have denounced that lack of regulation for the emerging employment law is preventing them from selling products completed before the law came into force.
As well as the finished and ready to be marketed products there are also raw materials, machinery and other production materials which entered the free zone before the new law was passed and are now in a legal vacuum, because of the absence of regulation to establish the treatment to be given to them in the context of the new legislation.
It has been announced that a rate of $18 for scanned inspections of containers will be charged per declared goods and not per truck, as has been charged so far.
With the new measure a change will be made to how the scanned inspections are charged, which will mainly affect companies that share vans to reduce costs, because up until now the charge for inspections using X-ray machines was applied per truck and not to individual goods.
A proposal has been made to avoid paralyzing the import process when a commodity shows "doubt on value" and investigate later the eventual errors in invoices.
Several entrepreneurs have complained about the fact that the Directorate General of Customs (DGA) stops the import process when a possible error in the value assigned to the goods on the invoice is detected, and they are demanding changes so that problems can be resolved later and for the customs clearance of goods to be allowed.
In response to demands from carriers the Directorate General of Customs has temporarily suspended the payment of $18 for scanning each unit load transported.
From a statement issued by the Treasury of El Salvador:
Carriers claim that the new rules on the $18 fee for revision using scanners is not clear when it comes to charging the fee on consolidated cargo.
This new conflict has arisen from the fact that the rules of the law do not specify whether in the case of consolidated cargo the $18 must be paid per package or if the fee should be divided among all packages, as they claim has been done up until now. The administrative provision indicates that the payment of the fee must be made with the goods declaration, ie consolidated loads must pay for each packet, for each declaration presented and not a single fee per container.
With the amendment to the Customs Simplification Act charges for inspections using scanners on international freight have been eliminated, but are maintained for cargo of national origin or destination.
The Legislature has eliminated the fee of $18 for use of scanners on international freight, but not on national cargo, ie freight departing from or arriving at El Salvador.
For the third time a suspension has been enacted for the payment of the $18 fee for inspecting containers using scanner machines at customs offices in El Salvador, and will be in effect until January 15, 2015.
Once again the Legislature has decided to continue the suspension of the fee for non-intrusive inspections, this extension will take effect on December 1st.
The new extension of the suspension of the payment of $18 for the non-intrusive inspection of international land transit operations is for 60 days starting from September 15, 2014.
For the third time so far this year, the Legislative Assembly has decided to maintain the suspension of the collection of the customs levy, this time until 15 November.
The Ministry of Finance intends to lower the minimum amount of the value of illegally imported goods which would incur criminal penalties for smuggling from $50 thousand to $10 thousand.
Deputy Minister of Revenue, Fernando Rodriguez, told Ameliarueda.com that the draft reform law, "...
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