The government has taken another step forwardu readjustment of the import system with the launch of a kind of automatic window to speed up the imports of companies that pay them with their declared dollars. This path, already foreseen within the new scheme called SIRA, has begun to have greater speed, according to the authorities, in the midst of the difficulties of accumulating reserves.
Economy Minister Sergio Massa confirmed the initiative on Monday morning in statements to El Destape radio, where he said so “Starting today, companies that put their dollars out of their accounts have automatic approval,” and provided for a sort of recycling included in the balance sheet, for which “If you have dollars and haven’t declared them, one way to formally enter them is through imports.”
The idea of Massa’s team was to announce the details of the decision on Monday, but they will finally be announced on Wednesday. From Economics, on the other hand, they assured that the measure “is already in progress” and which is mainly intended for those who want to buy a luxury item – High-end motorcycles, cars and planesfor example – without having to cross the foreign exchange market, as in most cases importers have to do today.
The head of customs, Guillermo Michel, defined these criteria together with his AFIP colleagues, Carlos Castagneto, and the Secretary of Commerce, Matías Tombolini, to unpack commercial complaints. After the soybean dollar, the BCRA sold nearly $ 500 million in October, despite the release of SIRA on October 17, which slowed imports. According to a report circulating in the UIA, only 12% have been approved since last Thursday.
“Import authorization is slow, which generates complaints and uncertainties, but the important thing is that there is constant dialogue and any measure that makes it more flexible is welcome,” said Enrique Loizzo, president of the Customs Brokers Center. , a sector that has a good arrival Michel, one of the minister’s main confidants and the brains behind the measures to prevent the loss of reserves.
Without a new official resolution, one of the unknowns is the impact it will have importing goods with a dollar of around $ 300when companies today Most of them have to wait 180 days to access the official value of $ 156.91. “The announcement is the guarantee of having a parallel regime, it presupposes a devaluation because the dollar you contribute is at the market price, so there is an increase in costs,” said specialist Marcelo Elizondo.
In the automotive sector, one of the voices with the greatest need for imports, believe that the new window could serve a customers take dollars off the mattress buy a high-end car, but they say it’s not industry-wide feasible because “costs go to prices “ and, on the other hand, the currencies for export are settled in pesos and those that could be requested from their parent companies would represent a debt.
The other question is matter the fine print with their own currencies. Although in the Economy they ensure that this alternative does not prevent a company from subsequently accessing the foreign exchange market, industrialists maintain their doubts, as today regulations disable them for 90 days from accessing the official dollar if they operate with financial dollars (MEP or CCL ), and operators fear that using the window will lead to more controls.
For now, the measure will be added to the multiple exchange rates set up to contain the bleeding of currencies. “Its impact will be marginal, no one will play with their dollars, perhaps with money laundering it may seem, but if you use the dollars and then they devalue, you are left with less pesos, I don’t think anyone will the CFO, which it is a recognition that there is another kind of change, “said Sebastián Menescaldi, Deputy Director of EcoGo.
Source: Clarin
