When lies try to prevail over the truth.
A few days ago, under the title «The Customs corruption plot: 'If there is someone honest there, I don't know him,' reveals a union representative», Infobae published an excerpt from the book «Customs, corruption and smuggling», by journalist Enrique Vázquez. The chosen fragment gives an account of the testimony of an alleged union representative, whose name is not revealed, about alleged acts of corruption in Customs and refers with particular frivolity to the work that we Customs Agents perform, in insulting terms that we emphatically reject.
In times of post-truth and fake news, stardom and a lack of professional rigor have become commonplace in some journalistic practices. And so, more often than would be desirable, some journalists do not seek the truth, but only those data that confirm what they had previously determined.
This seems to be the case in the published fragment, which allows itself not only to ignore the historical trajectory of the Customs Brokers, but also to distort the function they perform. For the enlightenment of the journalist and of the public opinion, we must remember that their task is framed in article 36 of the Customs Code, which recognizes them as auxiliaries of trade and customs service. They have an enabling license and their performance is subject to requirements established by laws, decrees and administrative resolutions. In the event of operations that could involve money laundering, they are obliged to report them to the Financial Information Unit (UIF). This professional hierarchy, which the text seeks to ignore, has international recognition. The Customs Brokers Center is a member of ASAPRA (International Association of Professional Customs Brokers) where it currently holds the Vice Presidency of the Southern Cone Area; of IFBCBA (International Federation of Customs Brokers Associations), where it holds a position on the Board of Directors. We, the brokers, are also recognized by the WCO (World Customs Organization) and the WTO (World Trade Organization) and are considered Foreign Trade Facilitators by the TFA (Trade Facilitation Agreement) signed by more than 135 countries. With 19 representations in the national territory, subsidiaries and correspondents, the CDA represents more than 3500 foreign trade professionals who have been duly accredited before Customs to operate through a suitability examination.
With the same frivolity and lack of adherence to the truth, the book in question states on page 11: “A customs officer earns more than 200.000 pesos a month, which he reaches with the sum of basic salary, seniority, hierarchical position and three extra salaries that each and every one of the 6.000 employees of the General Directorate of Customs receive, regardless of their rank or function: an extra salary is the percentage of the collection that applies to the entire AFIP; another extra salary is paid by the Chamber of Customs Agents and the third, by the shipping companies. These last two are institutionalized commissions under the euphemism of “extraordinary services”; both the Chamber and the shipping companies transfer the money every month to the agency and the administration deposits the sum in the accounts of its employees along with the normal salary.”
Such statements are absolutely fallacious. The author lies when he says that the “Chamber of Customs Brokers” (as he calls the CDA, in another eloquent lack of rigor) provides “an extra salary” under the euphemism of “extraordinary services.” If he had bothered to find out, he could have verified that such “extraordinary services” are authorizations provided for in article 773 of the Customs Code, General Resolution No. 665, its amendments and supplements, which establish that operations and other acts subject to customs control whose execution is authorized during non-business hours are taxed with a fee whose amount must be related to the remuneration of the extraordinary services that the customs service must pay to the agents who are assigned to control said acts, being the same settled through the AFIP website. Therefore, Customs Brokers are doing nothing other than complying with the norms established by Law.
The frivolity and lack of veracity with which journalist Enrique Vázquez speaks about the Despachantes is worrying. As a representative entity with a long history, which has just turned 106 years old, we strongly repudiate his whimsical statements and comments, which reveal that he has not taken the trouble to corroborate what functions and tasks we perform.
We demand a formal rectification of his statements and reserve the right to initiate any action we deem necessary. At the same time, we demand respect for Customs Agents, for the institution that brings them together and for the profession they practice.
If in the future you want to write seriously about Customs Brokers, our Institution will always have its doors open to receive you and advise you with the seriousness and support that corresponds.
Directive Commission
Customs Clearance Center of the Argentine Republic
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
