Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner criticized this Monday the “judicial and business operation” that it facilitated the realization of an import maneuver of a company without the corresponding validation requirements through a precautionary measure and that later “ceded” that authorization to another firm.
The operation was denounced on Friday, July 15 by the General Directorate of Customs (DGA)which detailed the maneuvers carried out by the Yoko company, which later “transferred” the jurisdictional protection provided by the judicial measure for the benefit of Tropea, a company dedicated to the import and sale of leather goods.
“Rental of precautionary? In other words, the companies that obtain a judicial order to take official dollars from the BCRA, also rent them? That one did not have it,” the vice president said on her Twitter account.
Rent precautionary? In other words, the companies that obtain a judicial order to take official dollars from the BCRA, also rent them? That sure didn’t have it. With this judicial and business operation, Argentina becomes almost an impossible mission.https://t.co/24QmoRXddD
– Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) July 18, 2022
Fernández de Kirchner finished off his comment by assuring that “With this judicial and business operation, Argentina becomes almost an impossible mission.”
The complaint
The DGA denounced before the Contentious-Administrative Justice an import maneuver by Yoko without the requirement of validation of the Advance Import Sworn Declaration (DJAI) of the Comprehensive Import Monitoring System (SIMI) that later “ceded” the authorization to another firm.
According to the complaint filed, The firm obtained judicial authorizations, via precautionary measures, to import merchandise, bypassing the requirement to validate the SIMI declaration.
In a statement, the Customs indicated that Yoko “later ‘ceded’ the authorization to another firm, Tropea, a company dedicated to the import and sale of leather goods with its own brand, so that the latter can take advantage of the judicial measure and can import handbags made in China without SIMI approved”.
The complaint was filed on Friday, July 15, in the Contentious Administrative Court Number 8, in charge of Osvaldo Otheguy.
In the letter, the DGA denounced thate Yoko did not use the “precautionary” in the terms that she obtained it and that “transferred” the jurisdictional protection provided by the judicial measure to the benefit of Tropea.
For this, the Customs brought to justice a simulation of Yoko through an authorization “contract” to market the “Tropea” brand for only one month: between June 21 and July 21, 2022, in the period in which that the merchandise had to be nationalized with the SIMI pre-authorized by Yoko.
“In plain terms, Yoko ‘rented’ the precautionary property to Tropea so that he could get hold of his merchandise” and ultimately the first of the aforementioned companies “functioned as a SIMI power plant.”
“Customs must protect the national industry and Argentine employment, but also avoid maneuvers by which some importers want to make dollars illegally and deceiving the State,” said the director general of Customs, Guillermo Michel.
After detecting the maneuver, Customs blocked the merchandise before it entered the market, notified the company of an infraction and applied a fine that could be up to five times the amount imported.
Also, accused the company of having violated the Customs Code for an inaccurate declaration with tax damage.
Finally, he appeared before the Federal Administrative Litigation jurisdiction, informed of the findings and demanded that the judge, having flouted the judicial measure, testimonies be extracted to form a new investigation before the Economic Criminal Justice for alleged procedural fraud. as part of an importation, which makes it a federal matter.
