Government expects that at the end of the year customs collection will add more than 1.1 bp

After being severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis, the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador expects that, by the end of this year, the collection in the country’s 50 customs offices will register, again, a level above one billion dollars. pesos, as happened last year in the midst of the reactivation of the economy.

Horacio Duarte, who until yesterday was at the head of the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) – a position he left to join the campaign of the morenista Delfina Gómez, in search of winning the State of Mexico – reported that they hope that tax revenues through customs total 1 trillion 104,000 million pesos this year.

This would mean a growth of 16% so far in the current six-year term, said the official during the morning conference that was held, as every day, in the National Palace, who shortly after announced his resignation.

In total, it is expected to collect just over 4.20 billion pesos this year for the payment of taxes from taxpayers, of which 33% would be captured through the different customs of the country.

The growth in tax revenue obtained by customs occurred even with the Covid-19 pandemic, which in 2020 dropped the collection, which Horacio Duarte attributed to the arrival of the armed forces to these precincts, something that has caused controversy amid the militarization of the country.

There are 6,960 members of the armed forces

According to the former head of ANAM, a body that began operations this year, there are 6,960 elements within it, which includes both personnel from the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) and the Secretary of the Navy (Semar). .

He added that, before the end of this year, it is expected that 2,297 more elements of the armed forces will join the 50 customs offices that operate in the country, for administration and surveillance tasks.

Regarding national security tasks, he indicated that in coordination with Sedena, Semar and the National Guard, new intelligence and alert models have been implemented to secure drugs.

In terms of weapons, so far this government has seized 97.9% more handguns than in Felipe Calderón’s six-year term, and 59.8% more than in Enrique Peña Nieto’s, while in long guns the rates are 187.9 and 106%, respectively.

“For the first time part of the resources of the Customs Trust are being applied. At this time we have 166 customs infrastructure and modernization projects under development, both border and maritime, which means an amount of 83,800 million pesos that are being invested in the customs of our country to guarantee and increase the collection,” he said.

There are two pending issues

Although customs collection has been recovered from the ravages of Covid-19, issues of corruption and modernization in customs are still pending, commented analysts consulted.

Since the arrival of López Obrador to the presidency, and still as part of the Tax Administration Service (SAT), one of the main amendments for the first customs chief, Ricardo Peralta, was the fight against corruption, a line that continued his successor Ricardo Ahued, and that intensified with Horacio Duarte.

“I don’t think putting in the military is a solution to corruption, but perhaps there was a decrease in the perception of corruption for the same reason, due to the discipline with which the militia is managed, but it did not necessarily translate into a real decrease in corruption”, commented Juvenal Lobato, professor at UNAM.

According to ANAM data, around 2,000 customs officials have been dismissed for acts of corruption, which has generated complaints before the prosecutor’s office, as well as investigation files in the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). .

Meanwhile, another issue that is still pending is modernization, said Alberto Ruiz Rioja, a member of the Technical Commission for Foreign Trade of the Association of Public Accountants of Mexico.

“We have a problem between SAT and ANAM regarding the connection of electronic systems. On specific issues, such as the Crossing Warning, ANAM launched its own systems, which were not synchronized with those of the SAT and generated chaos. As far as we know, that situation is not resolved yet,” said the expert.

ana.martinez@eleconomista.mx