Tax Auditors at Port of Santos Delay Imports and Threaten to Strike

Federal tax auditors have escalated their work slowdown at customs, including the Port of Santos, and have initiated days without computer access in the Secondary Zone, which handles tax collection. This action occurred on Thursday and Friday, with plans to continue on selected days this week. The auditors say they are protesting because the Federal Government has violated a previous agreement.

“The trend is towards a general strike, but that’s not what the category wants. We’re open to negotiations and just waiting for the Government’s response,” said Elias Carneiro Júnior, president of the Santos Union Office of the National Tax Auditors Union (Sindifisco Nacional).

In February, a productivity bonus agreement was signed. In April, a new deal was reached to establish a specific negotiation table to address the adjustment of the base salary, which has been frozen since 2016. The base salary makes up the main portion of tax auditors’ compensation, and its stagnation mainly affects retirees and pensioners.

“When it was our turn [to receive the benefits], the Government claimed that negotiations had already taken place in February, but in reality, the agreement only covered bonuses,” Júnior explained. On July 4, the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services (MGI) sent a letter to Sindifisco Nacional stating that the negotiation table would no longer be held.

According to the union leader, the impact is mostly being felt at land customs at this early stage of the mobilization. “At the Port of Santos Customs, we estimate that between 300 and 500 import declarations have experienced clearance delays over the last two days. That number is likely to rise significantly if the slowdown continues. We still can’t estimate the amount of taxes that have gone uncollected,” he detailed.

Please refer to the chart below for a comparison of container exports and imports registered in Santos between January 2021 and July 2024. The information was derived from DataLiner, Datamar’s maritime data platform.

Container Exports & Imports | Santos Port | Jan 2021 – Jul 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Response

When contacted, the MGI referred back to the February 2024 agreement. “In February 2024, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Management, signed an agreement with the representative entities of the Federal Tax Auditors to regulate bonuses. It was the ninth agreement facilitated by the Ministry of Management through a specific and temporary negotiation table,” the ministry said, echoing the union leader’s remarks.

Source: A Tribuna

Click here to read the original news text: https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/auditores-fiscais-no-porto-de-santos-atrasam-importac-es-e-ameacam-parar-1.433162

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