The Director General of Customs, Dr. Eduardo Mallea, participated this Monday (30.09.2024) in the Customs Taxation Commission of the Argentine Association of Fiscal Studies (AAEF), where he detailed the main initiatives in his management to optimize the country's customs service. During his speech, Mallea stressed that the strategy is based on four fundamental pillars: trade facilitation, control, openness to the world and institutional integrity.
The Director highlighted that various actions are already being implemented to strengthen the opening from Argentina to the world. In June, he had the opportunity to attend the World Customs Organization (WCO), where he participated in two sessions: one in the political body and another in the Council, which represents all member Customs Administrations. During this meeting, he was able to interact with different customs offices from various nations.
Meetings were held with customs representatives from countries such as Germany, Australia, Israel and the United Kingdom. In the case of the United States, a possible exchange of information on passengers and cargo is being evaluated. To make progress on this issue, the Director has held frequent meetings with the Department of Homeland Security of that country. In addition, he has met with representatives of the Canadian Chamber and the Chinese Embassy to discuss other issues of mutual interest.
He also recently attended the annual COMAEP meeting in Valencia, Spain, where issues were raised with customs in Latin America, Spain and Portugal. This series of meetings reflects a clear intention to promote international trade, an effort that has been well received, since - according to the Director - Argentina has attended the WCO tariff classification meetings only virtually.
Talking about facilitation and controlThe Director pointed out the reactivation of an internal customs table that includes representatives from all sub-directorates, such as technical-legal, interior, metropolitan and control. The objective of this table is to unify not only legal but also operational criteria.
Among the measures adopted, prior control for the export of equines has been eliminated. In addition, a new regulation is being evaluated to address the divergences in the tariff position between the MERCOSUR certificate of origin and importers in Argentina.
Regulations have been established for maritime transshipments abroad, seeking to unify criteria.
The first steps are also being taken in the implementation of artificial intelligence, starting with an upcoming contract with SENASA for fish classification. This approach seeks to enhance risk management, a growing trend worldwide. "The intention is not to replace customs officials, but to provide them with tools that allow them to improve their control work," said the Director.
Regarding the reference export values, all those related to goods with zero taxes have been eliminated. “Substantial modifications” are also planned in the standard values and stamps. “Argentina cannot have non-tariff barriers,” he emphasized.
Regarding the classification criteria in the context of infraction summaries, the AFIP publishes this information on its website, safeguarding the respective confidentiality.
The Director anticipated changes in the regulations to facilitate the free circulation of works of art and unify the temporary export process. Also, greater benefits will be offered to Authorized Economic Operators (AEO), such as the reduction of the guarantees necessary for their performance. He emphasized the importance of the AEO and the interest in increasing their number. "We have very few AEOs in the country," said the Director. He also commented that work is being done with the new Director of Customs Process Reengineering (Horacio Menem) and the Deputy Director of Customs Process Reengineering, Lic. María del Carmen Baratta, together with Javier Ferrante, who is the Deputy Director of Customs Control. In addition, he announced upcoming international agreements on the AEO program, highlighting cooperation with Israel.
“A fundamental issue that we want to address is the integrity”, continued the Director. To this end, Marcos Russo has been brought into the General Directorate of Customs (DGA). “With him, we are analysing various relevant issues.”
In addition, discussions have been initiated with the WCO to implement new tools to promote integrity. Currently, there is collaboration with the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network, which was established in 2011 with a small number of companies and has grown to more than 200 today. This network has had a positive experience with SENASA.
In addition, reporting channels are being reviewed to ensure their effectiveness. It is essential that users are aware of the existence of a channel managed by a third party, which will allow them to file complaints safely.
The Director also addressed the issue of money laundering. An expert in this area has been hired from the General Tax Directorate (DGI) of the AFIP to strengthen the capabilities of Argentine Customs.
Customs is also working to reduce the time it takes to resolve cases. To this end, the digitalisation of disputes related to values has begun and the next step will be to address the repetitions.
On the other hand, the General Directorate of Customs is focusing on training officials in different areas.
Mallea stressed the importance of the moratorium, one of the provisions of Law 27.743 on “Palliative and Relevant Fiscal Measures” that allows for the regularization of customs, tax and social security debts due as of March 31, 2024. He also highlighted the reactivation of the customs dialogue table to promote greater exchange between the public and private sectors.
With these statements, he concluded his dissertation entitled "Challenges of Argentine Customs: Management Plan and Objectives» within the framework of the AAEF. He was accompanied by doctors Ofelia Seoane, Juan Patricio Cotter, Fernando P. Schettini, and a distinguished academic audience.
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