More of $3,510 million is the commercial appraisal That represents for Colombia the cigarettes, beers and illegal liquors seized in only the first five months of 2022 (January – May), according to information from the Observatory of Registration and Control of Apprehensions (ORCA).
(Read: At the end of April, banks with profits of $6.3 billion).
The seizures, through the Anti-Smuggling Program of the National Federation of Departments (FND), are divided into 273,583 cigarette packs, 182,335 beers (350ml), and 113,861 bottles of liquor (750ml), in the 32 departments of the country, according to the entity, with data from ORCA.
Juan Pablo Vargas, leader of the Anti-Smuggling Program and Deputy Director of Agreements and Agreements (E) of the National Federation of Departments (FND) explains that “2,055 arrest warrants have been carried out and 338 commercial establishments have been closed for favoring the sale of products subject to to the illicit consumption tax.
Taking into account that “26 departments depend on 40% of the income collected by this tax”, in 2021 “it had a 45% share of the general tax collection,” he adds.
TOP DEPARTMENTS WITH MOST APPRECIATIONS
Antioquia, Norte de Santander and Boyacá are the departments with the highest number of seizures for cigarette packs, beer (350ml) and bottles of illegal liquor (750ml), respectively.
Illegal cigarette packs have been the most seized in volume so far in 2022, so much so that just adding the figure of five departments with the highest seizures, it registers an appraisal of more than $624 million.
Antioquia is the one that contributes the most to this sum with a total of 124,637 packs valued at $381,414,100. Followed by Caquetá with 26,886 seized units valued at $86,925,500.
follow Putumayo (20,945 packs), Córdoba (20,351) and Guaviare (17,320).
Illegal beer (350ml) is second on the list of seizures in Colombia. Only in the top 5 departments with the highest registration, it adds up to $268,847,864.
Norte de Santander leads with 68,492 beers (350 ml) seized, valued at $142,914,400, followed by Nariño with 24,619 units, which represents $17,043,159, and Cesar (17,216 units), Guainía (10,158) and Meta (9,705).
At the end of 2021, Norte de Santander topped the list as the department with the highest number of seizures of illegal beers, with a total of 122,000 units valued at $323 million, according to the National Federation of Departments.
And Sucre, which is not in the top 5 of 2022, was in second place in the final report of 2021 with 107 thousand units for $249 million.
the liqueurs They occupy the third position with the highest number of seizures within the list.
However, given the different prices of the bottles, it is the one that represents the highest commercial value, a total of $1,658,963,335 million, only taking into account the five departments with the most apprehensions.
Boyacá leads the list with 53,645 bottles (750 ml) totaling $10,400,900. Followed by Norte de Santander with 37,471 (750 ml) valued at $474,696,600.
Córdoba with 8,056 (750 ml) bottles valued at $306,076,100.
In Antioquia, 7,967 (750 ml) were seized, totaling $647,479,300. And in Cundinamarca 6,675 (750ml), for $220,310,435. In 2021 Atlántico topped the list with 25,000 units valued at $356 million. However, it does not appear in the top 5 of the first half of 2022.
(Also: The effects that the price parity between the dollar and the euro would have).
Juan Pablo Vargas, from the Anti-Smuggling Program, explains that “products derived from tobacco, beers, liquors and legal snacks are subject to Consumption Tax, which translates into resources for departmental finances, which the departments invest in improving health, education and sports services for the benefit of the community”.
And it adds that “according to the report of the territorial entities in the Single Territorial Form (FUT), in 2021, the Liquor Consumption Tax meant more than $959 billion for the 32 departments and the Capital District.” Which “represented 8.66% of total tax revenue.”
LEYDI PERDOMO
