The Fiscal and Customs Police (Polfa), the National Federation of Departments (FND), Fenalco and AACS Alliance Against Counterfeit Spirits announced the program ‘Legal Trade Zones 2023’.
(See: Regions leading the fight against cigarette and liquor smuggling.)
It is a initiative that is aimed mainly at shopkeepers, to accompany both their business formalization and encourage them to Join the fight against smuggling.
According to Fenalco, the strategy that will be developed in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Santa Marta, Valledupar, Bucaramanga, Montería, Cartagena, Medellín, Cúcuta and Riohacha will seek to train 300,000 merchants affiliated to Fenaltiendas for free.
“This is the continuation of a program that we have been carrying out since 2020, and which is aimed at promoting legality in the traditional channel (stores) and which today holds 48% of the supply market for Colombian households. This alliance will bring together public-private efforts in order to have a great reach, in previous years this program has benefited 5,900 small merchants”, said Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Fenalco.
(See: These are the most smuggled products in Colombia).
In her turn, Sandra Patricia Henández, director of Fiscal and Customs Police Management, pointed out the work and commitment that the entity has had with this type of initiative.
“In the context of the illegal liquor and cigarette market in Colombia, the Police have carried out more than 1,800 control activities”, he added.
It should be noted that one of the business lines that brought together the allies of the ‘Legal Trade Zones’ strategy to extend their work, focuses on the cigarette and liquor trade.
According to figures from the National Federation of Departments (FND), between January and April of this year, the seizure of 740,118 cigarette packs, 66,198 bottles of liquor (750ml) and 288,589 beers (350ml), illegal merchandise valued at a total commercial value of more than $6,100 million.
Additionally, during the control visits carried out in the same interval by the operational groups attached to the departmental Treasury secretariats, 216 commercial establishments were closed for allowing the sale of illegal products.
(See: In 5 years, Colombia has lost $2.4 billion from illegal cigarettes).
In addition, according to the study of unionization, because of the smuggling of cigarettes in 2022, the 32 departments and the Capital District stopped collecting close to $900,000 million from consumption tax.
(See: In 5 years, Colombia has lost $2.4 billion from illegal cigarettes).
Data from the Single Category of Ordinary Budget Information (Cuipo) show that the consumption tax represents an important source of income for the departments in the country, contributing an average of 43% of the total tax revenue, between 2015 and 2022, more than $5.46 billion in collections so far in the 2022 term.
(See: The most smuggled products during the pandemic).
According to the figures registered last year, by way of tax on cigarette consumption, more than $1.6 trillion were collected; more than $3.1 billion for beer consumption, being the highest collection recorded since 2015, and one trillion pesos for liquor consumption.
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