In a determined effort to combat smuggling and illicit trade, and with the aim of strengthening sanctions against these practices, Vamos MP Walkiria Chandler presented to the National Assembly a draft law that modifies the Penal Code and establishes other provisions.
Recent research, such as the Global Illicit Trade Environment Index by the specialized magazine The Economist, has placed Panama among the five countries that lack effective public policies to combat illicit trade. This study reveals that economies, through their free trade zones, do not have adequate national legislation to prevent and eliminate smuggling and its derivatives, placing Panama in 54th position globally.
Chandler D’Orcy explained that the Panamanian Penal Code loses its effectiveness by requiring that the amount exceeds five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) for the act to be considered a crime. This amount is significantly higher than that of neighboring countries such as Costa Rica ($10,000), Ecuador ($4,000), Colombia ($13,000) or Peru ($2,600), becoming an obstacle to the prosecution of smuggling cases.
This inconsistency has been pointed out by organizations such as the Alliance Against Illicit Trade, the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama, AMCHAM, Crime Stoppers International, TRACIT, the Federation of Chambers of Industry of Central America (FECAICA), the Association of Industrialists of Latin America (AILA) and the Latin American Alliance Against Smuggling (ALAC), who urge Panama to reduce the amount so that smuggling is considered a crime punishable by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“We must establish exemplary sanctions, because these crimes threaten the honest exercise of commerce, tax collection and the very health of the population,” said Representative Chandler.
The draft law proposes increasing the prison sentence to a range of five to eight years for anyone who introduces or removes goods of any kind, origin or provenance from the customs territory, evading the intervention of the customs authority, even if it does not cause fiscal damage, or who evades the payment of duties, taxes, fees or other corresponding charges.
It is also established that this sanction will be applied whenever the amount of the contraband is equal to or greater than $20,000. In addition, any person who possesses or introduces tobacco products into Panama without having paid the corresponding taxes or who fails to comply with the health regulations and standards in force in the national territory will be punished with a prison sentence of five to eight years.
Sanctions for public servants and businesses
The proposal provides that any public servant who, in the exercise of his or her duties, contributes to the commission of customs and smuggling offences will be punished with imprisonment of six to nine years and disqualification from holding public office for the same period.
These sanctions shall also apply to public servants who conceal reports of any customs violation or hinder their procedures, or improperly perform verification, assessment, classification, origin, inspection or any other customs or control function under their charge, provided that such acts or omissions involve manifest negligence that would have enabled the commission of smuggling, fraud, special customs crimes or attempts thereof.
In the case of businesses that sell products from illicit trade, they will also be punished with imprisonment of five to eight years and the cancellation of their operating notice.
