The Superior Audit of the Federation (ASF) identified pros and cons of foreign trade operations in the customs of Manzanillo, Mexico.
The foregoing as part of the integration of the Annual Audit Program for the Superior Control of the Public Account 2020.
First of all, customs has IT tools for the prevention and detection of illicit goods in foreign trade operations.
For the inspection of the merchandise, the Manzanillo customs do not have pre-established formats, the tests are carried out according to the experience, skills and knowledge of each verifier, and although the Customs Operation Manual is taken as a reference, it does not establish tests nor specific processes for the performance of those functions.
After the meeting of final results and preliminary observations, the audited entity indicated that the customs recognition procedure is established in number 2 of the Customs Operation Manual and is defined in the Customs Law and its Regulations.
Likewise, it stated that the actions are supervised at all times by the head of customs supervision, however, and given the characteristics of the customs operation and the inherent risks that physical and documentary inspections of merchandise entail, the ASF considers it necessary to reinforce the controls and issue a specific guideline that establishes tasks, procedures and mechanisms that serve as a technical and scientific guide, for which observation prevails.
Manzanillo Customs
The customs office shares technological tools with the bonded warehouses for the control and storage of foreign trade merchandise.
However, it was found that customs does not update the information in its systems with that of the controlled facilities.
After the meeting of final results and preliminary observations, the audited entity provided evidence of the instruction carried out to update and purge the records, as well as carry out a timely supervision of them and provided evidence of the update carried out, so that, once After analyzing the information and documentation provided by the audited entity for the attention of this result, the ASF considers the observation attended.
On the other hand, the number of operators in charge of monitoring the customs closed circuit television is not proportional to the total number of cameras, a situation that implies a risk for the correct surveillance of its territorial district.
In 2020, it only had 23 verifiers who carried out 56,535 customs examinations, which represented 7.6% of the total foreign trade operations at the Manzanillo customs office.
The ASF finally made the respective recommendations.
