The General Directorate of Customs (DGA) prevented two meat packing plants from exporting cuts of meat that are not permitted by the Decree 408/2021, which restricted shipments abroad by 50% until October 31, and prohibited the export of those cuts popularly consumed in the domestic market.
According to the Argentine organization led by Silvia Traverso in a statement, “The operations that attempted to circumvent current regulations were destined for China.”
In this regard, he stated that “The meat processing plants accused falsified their statements and package labels in order to send unauthorized cuts of meat to China.”
"The companies reported the alleged export of even incomplete forequarters, when in fact they were skirt and sirloin, cuts whose sale abroad has been interrupted as part of the Government's measures to protect the domestic market," Customs stressed.
Furthermore, The agency prevented a company from carrying out exports that would have exceeded the authorized quota.
In addition to preventing the export of these shipments from Argentina, Customs reported the exporters for the violations.
In the first case, the alleged declInaccurate measurements, totalling 44.525 kilos, were carried out by the Offal Exp and Madeka meat processing plants.
Customs detected and reported that these companies attempted to export cuts of meat simulating others whose sale abroad is not covered by the measures established by the national government, as part of its policy to guarantee the supply of the domestic market.
The other operation where irregularities were detected corresponds to a meat packing plant that attempted to take out of the country 10% more than the quota allowed in the shipping permit.
Customs agents inspected the merchandise at a warehouse in Campana, in the province of Buenos Aires, and reported the Alberdi meat packing plant for the violations.
During the inspection, it was discovered that there was an extra pallet, with almost 2.000 kilos of meat trimmings that were not declared in either the shipping permit or the supporting documentation.
By this maneuver, the merchandise was blocked from leaving the country.
These maneuvers, which seek to export by evading current regulations, are added to those identified days ago by Customs when it was found that the Login Food, Alberdi, Black Bamboo and Exportmeat meat processing plants attempted to sell to China cuts of meat that were not permitted, in accordance with decree 408.
The DGA's verification of the tax warehouse and the exporter allowed it to detect, for example, that the shipment from the firm Black Bamboo labeled as "lumbar bone tip" was in fact "roasted," a cut prohibited by current regulations.
Through the DGA, the Federal Public Revenue Administration (AFIP) works in a coordinated manner with the Ministries of Productive Development and Agriculture.
Throughout this year, Customs has established reference values for the export of 28 cuts of beef.
Reference values are a tool that allows the detection of potential under-invoicing maneuvers in exports, which seeks to dismantle possible tax evasion maneuvers and abusive practices that affect the entry of foreign currency into the exchange market.
In late May, Traverso also reported 19 meat packing plants that carried out fraudulent meat export operations.
The total fines imposed by the agency amount to nearly US$6 million.
In addition to the measures taken by Customs, there are inspections initiated by the General Tax Directorate (DGI), headed by Virginia García, on the 150 largest meat packing plants in the country, where under-invoicing or non-declaration of operations were identified in 9 out of 10 of the establishments inspected.
Source: Telam
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