Long-lasting operation by Fiscal Agents cause extensive delays at the Port of Santos

The work-to-rule campaign has been ongoing for more than five months, led by Federal Revenue tax auditors. According to the Federal Government, with no end in sight, the protest is increasingly impacting goods clearance at the Port of Santos and causing delays. Export cargo, which previously took two days to ship, is now cleared in 35 days. The import process, which formerly took three days, now takes 22 days.

The information above was released by Sindifisco, the tax auditors union based in Santos. The organization claims it will continue to stall cargo release until negotiations with the federal government progress. On June 3, the campaign leaders headed to Foz do Iguaçu (PR), where President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Federal Revenue Secretary Julio Cesar Vieira Gomes were at the time. There was a failed meeting attempt.

“There is no expectation that the operation will finish; on the contrary, it should increase,” says the president of Sindifisco, Elias Carneiro Júnior, regarding the campaign that started on December 23. The Federal Government, he claims, has not commented on the matter. “We’ve arrived at ground zero. To complicate things, the government offers and fails to deliver on several opportunities.”

Among the tax auditors’ grievances is the recomposition of the Federal Revenue budget, the opening of a public tender, and the fulfillment of an agreement signed with Sindifisco in 2016, which provides for the payment of variable bonuses.

Consequences

The delays in the release of goods jeopardize various industries that rely on imports and exports through the Port o Santos. For example, a Tribuna” news agency has previously discussed hampered operations for grain exporters and the home appliance industry. Moreover, now, the polystyrene business (a synthetic polymer similar to acrylic) predicts that cargo clearance issues will reduce its output.

See below the track record of Brazilian exports of containerized cargo via the Port of Santos from January 2021 to March 2022. These data are from Datamar’s DataLiner.

Containerized Cargo at the Port of Santos | Jan 2021 – Mar 2022 | TEUS

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

This situation prompted the executive director of the Union of Maritime Navigation Agencies of the State of São Paulo (Sindamar), José Roque, to send official letters to the Ministry of Economy and the Federal Revenue. However, he never heard back from them. “The auditors report that the work-to-rule campaign shall only grow, making the clearance of goods more difficult and causing logistical chaos and extra expenses, including more storage time, demurrage fees, loss of contracts, and pass-through of final costs to the consumer.”

Sindamar’s executive director emphasized that many companies complain about the slowness with which manufacturing equipment is received. There is also a climate of suspicion about whether items will be cleared swiftly. If not, there is a risk of a lack of inputs and forced production stoppages.

According to Roque, extending the movement “would generate an imbalance in the logistics of equipment, marked by the scarcity of containers for export cargo as the metal boxes are taking a long time to be cleared coming to the country.”

Humberto Barbato, the executive president of the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (Abinee), sent an official letter of notification to the Ministry of Economy and Brazil’s Chief of Staff Office but also received no response. “Unfortunately, we keep seeing problems with cargo release and, consequently, increased storage costs.”

Statements

The Ministry of Economy did not comment on the criticisms above. Also, in a statement, the São Paulo State Union of Port Operators (Sopesp) mentioned that it is monitoring the situation but does not see any abnormal operation at the Port of Santos at the moment.

Source: A Tribuna

To read the full original article, please go to:

https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/liberacao-de-cargas-no-porto-de-santos-chega-a-35-dias-de-atraso-com-operacao-padrao

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