The bill to strengthen the Chilean National Customs Service was unanimously approved by the Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
Regarding the initiative to improve and increase the number of Customs personnel, the Undersecretary of Finance, Francisco Moreno, was in charge of presenting at the commission.
Modernization of the customs service
The purpose of the executive's proposal is to adapt the law, which dates back 20 years., to current needs, increasing the number of service positions from 1.306 to 1.700, in addition to issuing the corresponding regulations for its proper structuring and establishing the requirements, conditions and deadlines for materializing the classification of personnel.
The Undersecretary indicated that “it is necessary to expedite the processing of this bill that seeks to restructure the plants and strengthen the management of the National Customs Service. We are talking about the fact that today foreign trade represents around 65% of the Gross Domestic Product, and this obviously means great challenges for the service. What we intend with this project is to provide Customs with a more appropriate and functional structure to carry out the functions that the law entrusts to it.”
Influence of e-commerce
Chile went from having 500 thousand e-commerce shipments in 2012 to 17 million in 2017, pointing out that “it is for this reason that the project we are supporting today is as relevant from a tax perspective as it is from a public health perspective,” said the Undersecretary.
Plant modality
This project seeks to reverse the silver modalityCurrently, around 34% of Customs officials are employed on a permanent basis and 60% are contracted employees.
Moreno assured that in no case does it put job stability at risk of the current Customs officials, and indicated that in the classification process the seniority of the officials in service should be considered as a priority factor.
On the other hand, he indicated that "the plan that is set and the classification that is carried out in the first year of application will apply retroactively as of January 1, 2018, an indication that is found in the legal initiative and that it is the will of the Executive to maintain it in those terms."
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