Revenue auditors strike slow downs cargo clearance across Brazil

The suspension of customs clearance at ports, airports, and other customs units in the country, announced by Federal Revenue officials last week, has gained new support with auditors from other states joining the strike movement. According to the National Union of Federal Revenue Auditors (Sindifisco Nacional), auditors from 16 states and the Federal District had confirmed their participation in the protest campaign as of Monday afternoon (22).

The latest addition to the movement was the customs of the port of Rio de Janeiro. Other customs units, such as the Guarulhos and Viracopos airports, both in São Paulo, and the Port of Santos, are also participating in the action.

Revenue auditors carry out customs clearance to verify if the cargo is ready to enter or leave the country. The interruption of this procedure began on Monday and will continue until next Friday (26), according to Sindifisco. In Salvador’s customs, the halt of activities will start on Tuesday (23).

Only perishable, live, dangerous, medicinal, and food cargoes will be released during this period. Everything else will be detained.

According to Sindifisco, even the release of smaller packages, such as products purchased by individuals through e-commerce platforms, will be affected.

The Ministry of Ports and Airports told the news agency Folha that the issue is the responsibility of the Federal Revenue. When contacted, the Revenue declined to comment.

See states where auditors have joined the customs clearance strike:

São Paulo
Rio de Janeiro
Bahia
Rio Grande do Sul
Paraná
Pará
Roraima
Federal District
Alagoas
Paraíba
Pernambuco
Rio Grande do Norte
Minas Gerais
Goiás
Tocantins
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso do Sul

According to Elias Carneiro, President of Sindifisco Santos, 4,200 containers are expected to be halted at the Port of Santos this week.

According to Carneiro, companies without stock will be the most affected. “The stakes are not so high to the Union given that taxes are collected at registration. However, a one to ten-day delay is inconvenient for businesses,” he claims.

On Friday, Flavio Prado, vice president of the union office in Santos, estimated that, only at the port, 6,500 import declarations and 4,000 export declarations will not be released.

The Port Authority of Santos (APS) stated that it is impossible to know the current cargo throughput details because cargo is handled by private operators, and statistics are compiled after receiving consolidated numbers, not in real time.

In 2023, the Port of Santos handled about 173.5 million tons – an average of 14.5 million per month, according to APS.

As for Viracopos airport, it stated that the cargo terminal operated normally on Monday and would monitor possible impacts during the week.

As of the writing of this text, Guarulhos International Airport has not responded regarding the cargo situation at the airport.

The auditors demand the payment of a bonus agreed upon in 2016 during the Dilma administration. In addition to their salary, auditors should be compensated based on their ability to meet goals.

The agreement gave rise to Law 13,464, which was regulated in June by Lula. However, according to the entity, Sindifisco complains that the government allocated only R$ 700 million in the budget forecast to fulfill the law – insufficient funds for the bonus payment.

“We were left with no other option. The Union does not comply with a law made by the Union itself,” says Isac Falcão, president of Sindifisco Nacional.

Source: Folha de S. Paulo

Click here to visit the original publication in Portuguese: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/2024/01/greve-de-fiscais-da-receita-paralisa-cargas-em-16-estados-e-df-diz-sindicato.shtml

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