A report from the General Directorate of Customs He stressed that the charges and fines for maneuvers overbilling and underbilling grew by 667% in the last half of 2022 compared to the first half of the same year.
The results of the report by the agency led by Guillermo Michel indicate that the charges and fines amounted to around USD 1.018,4 million for 33.000 oversight actions involving both supplementary charges and contentious and criminal complaints.
In relation to the irregular maneuvers detected, it was highlighted that a systemic value control strategy based on risk analysis, aimed at massively detecting operations with potential deviations.
These maneuvers are aimed at creating financial assets abroad (foreign currency) by taking advantage of the exchange rate gap," the report stated.
In addition, it was reported that the operations analyzed doubled between the periods mentioned, that the FOB amount of the same increased by 430%, and that they reached US$ 4.747,4 million.
Detail of operations
"The most significant sectors affected by such actions are mining, agricultural products, capital goods, medical-sanitary supplies and agrochemicals," it was noted.
Special mention was also made of the results obtained in the inspection of import operations that entered under the protection of the Decree 330 / 20, which established an exceptional 0% import duty on merchandise intended to combat COVID.
The report highlighted a criminal complaint filed against a company that imported machinery and supplies for the oil industry based in Vaca Muerta at significant overpricing; and complaints filed about slot machines and machines used to mine cryptocurrencies.
Customs clarified that these cases have a common denominator: harmful commercial triangulation, which impacts the improper outflow of foreign currency, and that these are commercial operations with purchase invoices issued primarily from the United States, and to a lesser extent, from other jurisdictions such as Hong Kong, Uruguay and Panama.
“The adoption of ex post control actions has contributed to improving the declaration of the elements that make up the customs value and compliance with the rules and procedures inherent to the valuation, to preventing fraud and deterring inappropriate conduct and to achieving greater efficiency in the management deployed by the valuation areas,” it was added.
These measures have as their normative context the Joint General Resolution 5271/2022, which establishes that, in order to access the SIRA, the AFIP will analyze the risk profile considering, among other elements, whether the importer has carried out over-invoicing or under-invoicing operations or has distorted the regime with abusive practices.
Written by Télam
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