New Tools for Mexican Customs

A day after President López Obrador proposed Horacio Duarte to be at the helm of SAT’s customs authority following Ricardo Ahued’s resignation, SAT approved an agreement granting new powers and functions to the customs office. A report from Milenio details these changes and the implications they could have. SAT head Raquel Buenrostro took the initiative to help the institution fulfill its goals during the present administration. This follows the president’s statements admitting that his administration has been unable to mitigate acts of corruption that are related to customs activities. The president will make a commitment to strengthen those filters and institutions and “clean up” Mexican customs offices. 

The General Customs Administration will now have the authority to retain exports if they are suspected to break any laws or existing guidelines in terms of copyright or industrial property. It will also now have the power to grant and also deny or cancel the working permits of all customs and shipping agencies and agents, as well as inspect said agencies. The General Customs Administration will have authority over every piece of documentation that said agencies and agents issue for their clients. All of that paperwork and its validity will be up to the discretion and discernment of customs authorities, who will have the power to cancel them at will if they consider it necessary to their investigations. All seals can be broken and all stamps can be erased. The General Customs Administration will also have the authority to inspect and verify all the equipment and technology that agencies use to complete their duties. 

Needless to say, it remains to be seen what kind of impact these measures will have on the flow of Mexico’s commercial exchanges and the day-to-day operations and logistics of any number of companies and sectors. More regulatory and sanctioning powers do not necessarily translate into slower or less efficient executions, assuming the regulator in question is properly staffed and managed with enough resources at its disposal. Perhaps, the more interesting question to pose would be to ask if the success of this change will be measured by how little it affects commonplace business or by how successfully it manages to fulfill its original purpose of combating corruption and irregularities.