Aduana News: What is your opinion on the current state of foreign trade and the actions of Customs?
Answer: Customs cannot be an exception to this picture of the de-hierarchization of the institutions of the Republic. If the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch are de-hierarchized, why would an organ of the Executive Branch such as Customs not be?
We are in a state of decline in every sense, human and institutional. We have reached a situation that is inexplicable, because we have a territory that is an exception and a blessing from God, populated by a quality of people of the highest quality, descendants of Italians, French, English, Jews and Galicians who have made a great country. There is no explanation for how, after the successes of the beginning of the century, having the Teatro Colón, running water for everything, underground and Nobel prizes, we have reached this situation. From now on, customs cannot be an exception, beyond the fact that its tradition has been very questioned from the beginning. I have an article published a few years ago that was titled "Smuggling: a patriotic crime", because smuggling was the origin of the May Revolution and the American Revolution. I was questioned about it but it is true. The issue of customs will always be difficult, because crimes are modern, artificial. Who set the limits? They are an invention of man. And the crime of smuggling is a man-made invention. With this famous globalization, the trend is towards the disappearance of borders.
Aduana News: In other words, the crime of smuggling would disappear…
Answer: Of course, you see, the same as tax crimes. On the other hand, there are crimes that are traditional, they are biblical, like killing or stealing. They are easy to understand. Problems arise when it is invented by man.
Customs News: Does the current economic situation favor smuggling?
I want to tell you something. Smuggling has almost disappeared because even the smugglers cannot sell. That is the situation in the country. There is no business. Even if they bring it at cost price from abroad, who is going to buy it if people do not have money? It is incredible, but it is like that.
Do you think the merger of the DGI and the DGA in the AFIP is positive?
Neither positive nor negative, because it has a fault from the start. I repeat, it is within the general rules of the law. There is still bureaucracy, improvisation, superposition of laws and regulations. What also happens is that consumers and the employees of the DGI and Customs are victims of this. It is always said that Customs is the cradle of crime, but there are countless customs officers who are very correct, most of them I would say, as well as the employees of the DGI. Logically, the thread is cut at the thinnest point and, generally, when there is some irregularity, which there is, those who suffer the consequences are the lower-ranking employees. The germ of the problem has been in the legislative tangle of this country for a long time, which means that we do not have a legal order but quite the opposite. There is a total legal disorder.
The problem is with the system…
Yes, yes, the problem is the system, because it demoralizes the right people, ends up defeating them, and gives the opportunity to the unsuitable and the scoundrels. It protects the scoundrels. The method of reward and punishment does not work. On the contrary, it works the other way around: the scoundrels are rewarded and the normal ones are punished.
Does the re-emergence of the Customs Police represent an improvement in the control system?
It is positive because it is specific. It deals with very specific, very technical issues. Those who know about tax or fiscal law have no idea about the customs system. They are different things, although they seem to be the same. It is like assuming that doctors are all the same. Although they are all doctors, one is an allergist and another a cardiologist. The allergist knows nothing about the heart, and yet he is a doctor.
Following the latest measures by Minister Cavallo, Albrisi said that taking more money than allowed ($1000) out of the country could be considered smuggling.
No, it is not smuggling. I have not received any notification. There must be a law that defines the crime, which obviously there is not. I understand that the decree would include it as an infraction.
Do you still maintain that the Customs chair is an electric chair?
Of course. Almost every customs administrator ended up prosecuted and imprisoned. I had several in my court. I had Brown, Parino, Delconte and others. They are all frequent attendees of the Courts. Yes, the Customs chair is an electric chair. And so are the judges.
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.
