Corruption in Customs office impedes Yucatan’s trade growth: expert

The office requires more investment in the maritime terminal to detonate foreign trade since it has limited capacity…

MERIDA – One of the main problems that Customs faces is corruption, because although Yucatán has great potential in terms of foreign trade and handles a limited amount of cargo, it has versatility, and that increases its possibilities for growth. However, investment in infrastructure is urgent.

The expert Cindy García Gutiérrez, Master in Social Sciences, teaches Customs Law and Legal Basis of Commerce at the Universidad del Valle de México Merida campus. She explained the opportunities for Yucatan in foreign trade matters during an interview with the local newspaper La Verdad.

 What about the insecurity and corruption in Customs?

It is a recurring theme; Customs has historically been labeled as a place susceptible to this type of acts of corruption. It is a place where a large volume of goods of high value and interest for the national territory and abroad travels, so it does not escape this type of phenomenon. However, it is fair to say that in recent years, by the authorities involved such as the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and the Customs administrations have jointly tried to step up the measures to deal with avoid this type of illegality.

Has the problem been reduced in terms of the undervaluation of merchandise that arrives at Customs?

Authority is trying to step up the measures to combat this phenomenon, but the bad practices in terms of smuggling, the introduction of merchandise into the national territory that do not cover the process necessary for their legalization and that complies with the standards that Mexico establishes, so that this merchandise once in national territory has the category of nationalized merchandise that is apt to be freely marketed in the national territory.

What are the main problems of Customs?

Look, corruption and bureaucracy. Mexican Customs faces added insecurity, which increases the costs of companies and affects international trade, so it is necessary to invest in Customs infrastructure, because although the Mexican economy occupies the 14th place in the international arena, Customs are ranked 65 out of 125 countries, which is why it is necessary to close the gap between growth and efficiency, because that makes the country more competitive.

To read the full article, in Spanish, click here.

Source: www.laverdadnoticias.com