Auditors strike should prevent cargo release in SP – 01/19/2024 – Market

Federal Revenue inspectors say that, for five days, they will not carry out any cargo clearance at the country’s largest port and busiest airport. For the category, the measure will be a warning to the federal government.

According to Sindifisco (Syndicate of Tax Auditors of the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service), import and export cargo will be detained between the 22nd and 26th of this month at the port of Santos and Guarulhos International Airport. The same will apply to Viracopos airport, in Campinas, and customs in Salvador (port and airport). But, in the capital of Bahia, the strike will begin on the 23rd.

During the period, only perishable, live, dangerous cargo, medicines and food will be released. Everything else will be retained.

“Every strike, unfortunately, produces negative externalities and we seek to reduce them by prioritizing essential services. Perishable products, medicines and food will not be harmed. On the other hand, it is important to remember that there is a law pending implementation for seven years, and the auditors inspectors could not continue waiting for its application indefinitely”, says the president of Sindifisco Nacional, Isac Falcão.

The complaint is in relation to an agreement made by the category with the federal government in 2016, when the president was Dilma Rousseff. It was agreed that tax auditors would receive an efficiency bonus that could reach up to R$3,000 per month. In addition to the normal salary, they would receive a bonus according to the quantity of cargo released.

The agreement gave rise to Law 13,464, but it lacked regulation. After negotiations with the Lula government, this happened in June of this year, which should have put an end to the demands — but made them worse.

“The problem occurred when placing the value in the 2024 budget forecast. The minister [da Fazenda, Fernando] Haddad had published an ordinance providing for R$ 2.4 billion [de bônus], but this ordinance was not complied with. The government allocated R$700 million for the 2024 budget”, says Flavio Prado, vice-president of the union department in Santos.

Consulted by Sheetthe Ministry of Finance said it would not comment on the matter.

There is no concrete number on the quantity of cargo that will be affected by the strike or the loss for importers and exporters. Prado estimates that, at the Port of Santos, 6,500 import declarations and 4,000 export declarations will not be released.

However, it is not possible to determine what the number of containers will be, because it may happen that the same storage has loads from different owners.

The Port Authority says that the latest number available refers to November last year, when 15.7 million tons were handled in Santos.

The report questioned the airports of Guarulhos, Viracopos and Salvador regarding the average cargo movement. He did the same with the Port of Salvador, but had no response until the publication of this text.

“The category draws attention to the low budget reserved for the institution, a situation that perpetuates the dismantling suffered over recent years”, complains, in a note, Sindifisco.

Last year, the Federal Revenue opened a competition to fill 230 tax auditor vacancies. The starting salary was R$21,029.09, not including benefits.

The category had warned the government that it would go on strike in September last year, but decided to postpone it as a “vote of confidence”, according to Prado. Since November 20, auditors have been in standard operating mode, in which cargo is released with greater delay.