The director of the Customs Department, Vicente Sanchez Baret, said the implementation of the GATT valuation system on 1 July ends the discretionary powers of the director of customs to adjust taxes paid on imports. From now on, taxes will be levied on the values shown by the actual transaction documents. He told El Siglo newspaper that a list of importers prone to evade taxes has been drawn up and that they will be checked more closely. Sanchez said his department as of 1 July will go on line with an international valuation network that will set prices for most imports. Reportedly, 31 products will be exempt until 1 July 2003. In the interview with El Siglo he said that for the first time the true values of the imports will be known and there will be real information on the profit margins of importers.
