E-commerce through Chinese platforms such as Alibaba, Shein and Temu has impacted sales of department stores and supermarkets in Mexico and even impacted the country’s tax collection due to unorthodox and unfair practices, the company condemned on Tuesday. National Association of Self-Service and Department Stores (Antad).
Antad executive president Diego Cosio noted that these Asian companies benefit from schemes for individuals that allow them to import products. without paying duties and taxes.
Manuel Cardona, director of government relations at Antad, explained that these players are unorthodox in meeting their tax obligations and They declare the import of products worth less than $50.
What allows them import without paying taxes, duties and even skip official Mexican regulations that may be related to safety or health requirements.
“This applies to purchases that we all make in our daily lives and there are players, mainly Asians, who are taking advantage of this scheme. failure to correctly declare imports. For example, I can buy something for $500 or $1,000, they place an order for $49.99, it comes with this tax benefit, compliance,” he commented.
Photo: Pexels
Under the Mexico-United States-Canada (T-MEC) Agreement, goods of origin valued up to $50 are allowed into the country. exempt from tariffs and value added tax (VAT), while the limit for “duty-free” items is up to $117.
Cardona emphasized that this will not only affect businesses and stores opened in Mexico, but also This also represents an impact on the Mexican government. and into the state treasury, since taxes are no longer collected.
“But there is a fourth victim and the consumer will probably suffer the most, because this product does not comply with the official Mexican standards for commercial information and security (among other things),” he added.
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That is why ANTAD representatives clarified that they are already working hand in hand with the Mexican authorities to create equal conditions for all companies and enterprises which operate in the country.
“The only goal is to achieve a level playing field, that we all pay what we have to pay And most importantly, we always make our products as affordable as possible in terms of quality and price,” he said.
Photo: Cuartoscuro Archive
In this sense, they also showed that In two weeks they will meet with representatives of the secretariats of economy and finance and public credit. as well as the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and the Federal Agency for Consumer Protection (Profeco).
Cosio also clarified that although they have not calculated the damage to the state treasury due to non-payment of taxes or damage to Mexican trade, they are aware of the speed of growth of platforms such as Temu, Shein and Alibaba in e-commerce.
For his part, Cardona also emphasized that Insecurity also affects retail sales, with over 68,890 events in 2023.
He said that the losses Last year they accounted for 1.17% of total sales. up to 26 incidents, such as robbery with violence, document forgery, extortion, shoplifting and others.
(EFE)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
