A court ruling has overturned the SAT resolutions authorizing Empresa Portuaria Quetzal y Terminal de Contenedores Quetzal to operate as temporary customs warehouses.
Although the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) has announced that it will be appealing the ruling given by the Second Administrative Appeals Chamber, the reality is that since June 28, the activities of the customs warehouses in Empresa Portuaria Quetzal (EPQ) have been suspended as well as those at the Terminal de Contenedores Quetzal (TCQ)."...The resolution orders that the SAT no longer has the customs service under its administration, which contravenes the Central American Customs Code CAUCA, therefore the Superintendency will file an appeal against the decision made by the Court."
Following the authorization granted to TCQ by the Superintendency of Tax Administration to function as a temporary customs warehouse, its entry into operations for October has been announced.
Anarticle in Prensalibre.comreports that"...The auditor of the TCQ, Alexander Aizenstatd said that with the authorization published in Diario de Centro América on Friday, an intermediate stage has started where there a link is formed with the authorities of the SAT, in order to subsequently ask for the entry into operation.'Closer ties have now been made with the National Port Commission for certification and following this a certification will be requested for the Marina.The plan is for the TCQ to be operational at the end of September, or beginning of October. ' "
Alcoholic beverages, technological equipment and chemical products are some of the products most affected by the disappearance of containers which has been denounced by the union of importers in Costa Rica.
The Costa Rican Chamber of Importers has expressed its concern at the "extreme" security measures which have to be taken to ensure that containers with imported goods reach their destination without being stolen in transit.Its director, Katherine Chaves, told Diarioextra.com that in some cases the containers disappear from thestorage zones.
Private operators which were previously authorized to operate in the customs area will no longer do so and it will be the Port of Quetzal the responsible for the public role of customs clearing.
The amendments are intended to improve general customs controls and functions after the fraud network that operated from inside of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) was dismantled.
Port authorities have to provide information to the Superintendency of Tax Administration regarding the goods and containers in their custody.
The Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT ) of Guatemala has issued a number of provisions establishing the data that must be provided - and kept up to date - by electronic transmission.
"Reports on goods included in import operations must detail the vessel name and voyage number, carrier name, date of discharge or receipt into temporary storage, container number, number of the form for temporary admission of loading equipment, name of consignee, description of goods, and total weight of cargo, among other data. "
The government has extended for three months intervention activities in customs offices, measure that has increased the collection of customs duties by 30%.
The Guatemalan government extended until next March the operative intervention that has been carried out since October last year in some customs in the country in order to control illegal activities.
Entrepreneurs are warning that illegal payments are still being made for getting goods through because the intervention operation has not worked.
The business community believes that the operation for intervention in customs offices has not worked properly and users have to make illicit payments in order to get their goods through.
"... Because of the long lines caused by the slow procedures and inspection of goods, carriers must pay between $13 and $64 to avoid being punished," said Carolina Castellanos, executive director of the Guatemalan American Chamber of Commerce ( AmCham).
Between January and August 2013 $1.135 billion was raised in VAT on imports, while in the same period in 2012 the amount was $1.137 billion.
Data from the Tax Authority (SAT) shows that in terms of customs duties $157 million was collected, down by 22% compared to the $202.2 million reported in 2012.
"There has been no improvement and collections continue to decline.
The Tax Authority has approved the implementation of a pilot program in customs offices which will reduce the time it takes to inspect containers.
According to the Indendent of Customs, Filadelfo Reyes, the plan will come into effect on August 2. "We want to facilitate foreign trade operations in customs with this new methodology," the official said.
Central American industry is calling for strengthening of customs controls in the region, in order to contain the constant border crossings made with smuggled goods.
According to Carlos Enrique Rivera, secretary general of the Federation of Chambers and Industrial Associations of Central America and the Dominican Republic (FECAICA), at the border located in Melchor de Mencos, Peten, which borders Belize, there is no control to prevent the entry of illegal goods, which apparently heads toward Mexico, but 15% remains in Guatemala, without having made tax declarations.