Control over imports of textiles and clothing, which mostly originate in the People's Republic of China and Brazil, will be controlled by a new system, the National Customs Directorate (DNA) reported.
The new tool called “Siveca” will improve the reception of information on shipment data to Paraguay, from China and Hong Kong, as well as the provision of river cargo manifest data by shipping companies before the ships arrive in our country. It is also planned to comprehensively improve the Customs Tax System (Sofia) and the use of scanners at strategic posts.
Among the sectors where the DNA will increase controls is the entry of clothing and textiles, considering that a good part of the market continues to be supplied by informal workers.
“The launch of Siveca is nothing less than a shock to transparency in trade with China. The system was fully ready and was not put into operation, only political will was needed, and we have decided to take this step that had been postponed for years,” said the director of Customs, Julio Fernández.
"We will try to meet with representatives of the textile and clothing industry to see if it is possible to work together to combat smuggling," he added.
Goods from the Republic of China account for the largest share of national imports, reaching US$3.399 billion last year in terms of FOB (Free On Board) value, which represents 28% of Paraguayan imports.
The recent import of clothing, especially from Brazil, is another issue that worries the local clothing industry and textile producers. In this regard, Customs plans to make more efficient and widespread use of the Customs Records Information Exchange System (Indira).
In addition to all this, scanners will be used to control containers and the implementation of the Electronic Transmission of River Manifests (Temaflu) through which shipping companies must send to the Sofia system all information about the cargo they are bringing to Paraguay before its arrival at local ports.
Siveca is the result of a reciprocal cooperation agreement between the Paraguay-China Cultural, Industrial, Technological and Commercial Union (UCITC) and the Ministry of Finance, which will allow for improved control over imports from the Asian giant. Data from China and Hong Kong will be provided by UCITC to the National Customs Directorate at no cost to the state or to importers.
Textile industry exports grew by 35% in 2017, as exports rose from 120,3 million dollars in 2016 to 162.4 million dollars in 2017. Meanwhile, exports in 2018 totaled just over 187 million dollars, which is equivalent to an increase of 15%.
The textile industry, which includes the manufacture of clothing, fabrics, threads, fibres and wadding, among others, has seen its production grow by 7% in the past year.
Source: IP
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