Three years ago the Tax Administration Service (SAT) of the Mexican Ministry of Economics created the General Administration for the Audit of Foreign Trade (AGACE), which was tasked to audit the Import & Export activities of commerce post customs clearance.
In June of 2014, AGACE began auditing Maquilas Teta Kawi, The Offshore Group’s affiliate in Sonora, Mexico, to ensure compliance with fiscal and customs regulations. The audit lasted 11 months and according to Pedro Valenzuela, Director of Import & Export, “It was the most thorough audit that The Offshore Group has ever experienced”.
In total, AGACE audited 4,520 pedimentos along with the supporting documents, incoterms, various import operations, valuation, and fiscal records. Pedro Valenzuela shared that “fulfilling AGACE’s requests for supporting documentation and evidence of compliance in a timely manner, required members of the Import & Export department to work close to 20 hour days”.
On May 19, 2015, AGACE informed The Offshore Group, that all of their hard work paid off and that the audit had concluded with zero findings for Maquilas Teta Kawi.
Passing this audit with zero findings says a lot about how The Offshore Group’s Import & Export department provides value to its Clients. Since the implementation of the AGACE, the SAT has exponentially increased the number of customs audits conducted each year. When Clients of The Offshore Group are audited, the Import & Export Compliance team responds and manages every aspect of the process. This ensures that production activities aren’t interrupted and relieves the Clients from the burdens associated with these audits.