Customs and Philip Morris sign agreement to counter illegal tobacco trade
The General Directorate of Customs (DGA) signed a cooperation agreement with the company Philip Morris Dominicana (PMDO) to work together in the execution of actions that help combat tax evasion, smuggling, and illegal trade in products derived from tobacco.
“The DGA is focused on fully fulfilling its mission, which seeks to facilitate the Dominican Republic’s trade with the rest of the world, ensuring the efficiency and transparency of customs processes, and in this way fight against any illicit, that violates the security of the logistics chain”, expressed the general director of the DGA, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón.
Through the first agreement, signed with the company Philip Morris Dominicana, through its general director, Roberto Yunén Haché, and the general director of the DGA, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, they agreed to promote effective cooperation between the government and private companies to reduce the illicit tobacco trade that serves to improve the business climate and the economic reactivation of the country.
Millionaire losses to the treasury
The main objective of this strategic alliance is to plan effective measures to combat the activities of the illegal market for tobacco products, including their counterfeiting and other forms of illicit trade. From January to April 2021, the DGA seized 88.29 million units of cigarettes, representing losses to the treasury of approximately 425.85 million pesos.
The CEO of Philip Morris assured that the signing of this agreement is the result of the synergy between the public and private sectors, which will help reduce the distribution and sale of smuggled cigarettes.
Both the DGA and Philip Morris will develop procedures for the mutual exchange of information that will help identify the sources and participants of the illicit cigarette trade.
The entities recognize the importance of making the confiscation public to discourage future imports, their transit, and/or sale, for which they undertake to carry out advertising campaigns in order to educate and instruct citizens about illicit trade and its health disadvantages.
ASOCIGAR support
The Dominican Association of the Cigarette Industry (ASOCIGAR), through its vice president, Marcos Bisonó, expressed his support for this agreement and was in favor of promoting actions to combat the illegal cigarette trade.
“ASOCIGAR reiterates its support for the Government’s actions to combat illicit trade and this act shows its support for the official initiative contained in Decree 55-21 against cigarette smuggling that affects the country. We appreciate the enthusiasm and determination of the current Directorate General of Customs and we reiterate our commitment to contribute to the prosecution and mitigation of crimes of smuggling and illicit trade that damage the image of the country”, declared Marcos Bisonó.