"Another serious and illegal advance of the AFIP (TAX office) through its General Directorate of Customs", described the tax expert José Bellorini to the measure. In principle, it affects squid exports, but they estimate that it will also affect the marketing of shrimp abroad.
In the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, General Resolution 5014/2021 of the
AFIP was published this Thursday, which again sets "preventive reference values" for squid exports.
The tax expert and professor at the Austral University, José Ignacio Bellorini, questioned the scope of the measure that punishes the export sector that generates foreign exchange for the country.
José Bellorini / Foto: Revista Puerto
“Although RG 5014/2021 begins in particular with squid, the AFIP has re-established its export reference values, which will in practice import customs adjustments. A great fiscal setback that once again discourages the great engine of the economy such as the export sector and a genuine generator of foreign exchange for the Central Bank”, he lamented.
He maintained that they will surely advance with the shrimp as happened a few years ago “where we ended up discussing the challenges in the City of Rosario (prior to going to the Tax Court). I had to go many times and on several occasions I came across senior officials who, between laughter and laughter, confessed to me that the closest they were to a prawn had been in a supermarket. Pathetic”, he synthesized.
"Arbitrary criteria"
Bellorini told Revista Puerto that “Customs pivots on three axes to support a challenge to a customs value for export, without the company being able to prove other commercial criteria that certainly affect the price of the product: the size of the shellfish; form of freezing; and the destination country”, he explained about the recent AFIP resolution.
Foto: Revista Puerto
He described that "these arbitrary and selective criteria are incorporated into a customs computer system that‘ thinks ’what the export reference price should be. And there begins the ordeal. The AFIP ignores that although the size, the type of freezing and the destination imply rules of interpretation regarding the exported raw material, other parameters and indications directly affect the price of the shrimp that must be weighed as the pieces per kilo per case: the higher be the quantity of pieces and consequently closer to the values of the immediately lower caliber, the lower will be its commercial value; The shellfish must be arranged in the case: the shellfish must be well arranged and ordered (“along” or “across”, depending on the size, protecting the heads towards the “center” of the case (in the case of shrimp) since otherwise, the commercial value decreases, and the fishing area can affect the final quality of the fish", he said.
Variables
Following in shrimp, for example, “the fishing areas under the jurisdiction of the Province of Santa Cruz, the biomass is lower, so the trawling time of the nets in the water is longer (long) and the quality of the material The premium obtained is lower than that of other areas (loose neck, stronger color due to time elapsed, finer and more fragile rind). Thus, seafood in general is small in size (higher percentage of L3 and L4), so the processing time is longer, delaying its freezing and thus affecting the quality and final presentation of the seafood (especially in color and general appearance. )”, he described.
Bellorini added that in fishing areas under the jurisdiction of the Chubut Province "the prawn is in the" spawning "season so the" roe "takes a dark color inside the head, giving the seafood a" bad "commercial aspect whenever generates "distrust" regarding freshness in the final consumer. Finally, in fishing areas under national jurisdiction, the capture and production rates tend to be higher, which also generates a “bottleneck” in the freezing stage", he compared the two main areas of that fishery.
Trade variables vs. customs values
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However, Bellorini considers that “the problem in fact is that the freezing time is not optimal, since it is shortened to be able to freeze (tunnel or plates) the seafood that is already processed and waiting; and the second problem is that the shellfish that was waiting to be frozen is dehydrating and ‘draining’ liquids that dirty the bottom of the case, which directly affects its presentation to the importer with the logical and obvious impact of price and commercial value. Another parameter and indication is that the shrimp is subjected to an immersion bath with metabisulfite (antioxidant) to prevent the enzymes present in the head of the shrimp from beginning to deteriorate the shellfish and lead to its rapid decomposition. This sulfite bath also prevents the rapid appearance of color "stains" black (melanosis) on the shell, irreversibly affecting the appearance and presentation of the shrimp. Its dose - and even omission - directly impacts on the commercial value of sale” ,
he cited as another of the issues that determine a price.
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