Customs and Duties
? Ideally, the customs service should be put under
foreign contract managers. If this is politically too
sensitive, the customs personnel should be entitled
to receive a percentage of customs and duties
revenues, on a departmental incentive basis. In any
case, the customs should be subjected to outside
inspection by expert inspectors who should be
rewarded with a percentage of the corruption and
lost revenues that they expose.
? In the case of imports or payments abroad,
invoices, which include a price of more than 5%
above the list price of a product, should be rejected
and assessment for the purposes of paying customs
duties and other taxes should be issued at the list
price.
? In the case of exports or payments from abroad,
invoices which include a discount of more than
25% on the list price of a product should be
rejected and assessment for the purposes of paying
customs duties and other taxes should be issued at
the list price.
? The numbers of tax inspectors should be
substantially increased and their pay considerably
enhanced. A departmental incentive system should
be instituted involving a percentage of the intake
(monetary fines levied, goods confiscated, etc.).
? The computerized database system (see
"Databases and Information Gathering") should be
used to compare imports of raw materials for the
purposes of re-export and actual exports (using
invoices and customs declarations). Where there
are disparities and discrepancies, severe and
immediate penal actions should be taken. Anti-
dumping levies and measures, fines and criminal
charges should be adopted against exporters
colluding with importers in hiding imported goods
or reducing their value.
? Often final products are imported and declared to
the customs as raw materials (to minimize customs
duties paid). Later these raw materials are either
sold outright in the domestic or international
markets or bartered for finished products (for
example: paints and lacquers against furniture or
sugar against chocolate). This should be a major
focus of the fight against the informal economy. I
follow with an analysis of two products, which are
often abused in this manner.
? I study two examples (white sugar and cooking
oil) though virtually all raw materials and foods
are subject to the aforementioned abuse.
? White Sugar is often imported as brown sugar.
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