CUSTOMS: THE COMMUNICATION ROUTES OF MEXICO TO THE WORLD
By Ricardo Treviño Chapa,
Administrator General of Customs.
Can you imagine doing a foreign trade operation without even realizing when you crossed the border? That is precisely the objective we have set for ourselves at the Administration General of Customs.
Although it will be an arduous process and will take time, it is fully possible and we are already working on it. In this administration we seek to change paradigms: make trust the base of foreign trade operations among all players in the logistics chain.
We are aware, however, that we cannot neglect the safety of trade which is why we have established certification as the model to combine trust with security. Consequently, all companies that prove their good practices through various certifications issued by the Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria, SAT), such as the VAT-IEPS (Value Added Tax-Products and Services Tax) certification or the Nuevo Esquema de Empresas Certificadas (NEEC), may enjoy benefits such as more agile and less expensive customs clearance which will boost their operations while making national foreign trade more competitive.
There are many projects that we are promoting from the Mexican Customs, but I want to highlight the main ones, those that have a greater impact for users:
Cargo Pre-Inspection Program
The most transcendent of these projects might be the Cargo Pre-Inspection Program. It originated from the Bilateral Customs Strategic Plan that we signed with the United States in 2014. This is an innovative program that allows us to speed up the transit of goods between Mexico and the United States, since it provides that SAT and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials conduct joint customs inspections at the exporting country facilities that translates into a much more dynamic and profitable customs clearance.
We are currently operating two Cargo Pre-Inspection pilot programs with a third to launch the third quarter of this year:
The first one of them at the Laredo Texas International Airport, launched in October 2015, is focused on the import of goods from the automotive, electronics and aerospace industries bound for eight Mexican airports. The number of companies participating in the program has grown 70 percent since its creation, and among the benefits reported by participating companies, 50 percent savings in costs and 60 percent in clearance times, stand out. SAT and CBP currently evaluate the program results to make decisions in terms of their modification, extension or expansion to other products, sectors, origins and destinations.
The second pilot program takes place at the Garita de Otay facility in Tijuana Customs for agricultural products exported from Mexico to the United States. It was inaugurated on January 12, 2016. SAT and CBP have processed more than 2,100 shipments / trucks through July 1 with commercial value of more than $181 million and a volume of more than 20 thousand tons.
The pilot reports important benefits in customs clearance times: the traditional way can take up to five hours, assuming revision on both sides of the border. With the pilot, clearance times have been reduced to an average of 45 minutes with joint inspection and up to 15 minutes without it.
During the second half of this year we will launch the third pilot program at the San Jeronimo Industrial Park, in Chihuahua. We will process, on average, 200 trucks daily, containing between 30,000 and 40,000 computers and other electronic products bound for the United States.
Customs Processing at Importer/ Exporter Facilities
The second project that I want to stress is the customs processing at the Importer/Exporter Facilities, also called Despacho a Domicilio (Clearance at Warehouse), launched on March 7, 2016. It allows exporters to close clearance processes from its facilities through electronic means and thereby avoid congestions at customs. Thus, a process that previously took between two and three hours queuing at peak times, takes just a few minutes under this project.
Direct Customs Clearance
The third trust-based project we have implemented is the Direct Customs Clearance which allows importers and exporters to process their goods through a legal representative without the intervention of a customs broker.
The first Customs Clearance operation occurred on April 14. The concept of the legal representative facilitates foreign trade, since, as part of the company, representatives have greater knowledge about their goods, increasing safety, efficiency and dynamism. To date, the General Administration of Customs has authorized 17 companies to participate in the Direct Customs Clearance.
In Summary…
These are only three of the most important projects we are developing in close collaboration with the industry, the private sector and the government of the United States. These three programs are aimed at making the intervention of the customs authority increasingly imperceptible without neglecting security in the logistics chain, privileging good business practices and adhering to the law.
The Mexico government officials are fully convinced that collaboration and trust are the necessary foundation to continue making Mexico an increasingly competitive market whose benefits reach not only businesses but have a positive impact on job creation and the economic levels of our country.
We have much work ahead and we are focused on taking customs beyond a division of markets to become the communication routes for foreign trade. I am convinced that through commitment and constant communication with stakeholders, we will achieve this assignment soon.
