The National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) outlines the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to combat the undervaluation of imported goods.
Artificial intelligence is going to change customs a lot, it will be a complement to risk analysis,” said André Foullon, head of ANAM, participating in the National Congress of Customs Agents, in Mexico City.
“Artificial intelligence will allow us to do multiple analyzes in microseconds. This will be a quick change because it is already being implemented,” Foullon projected.
Currently, ANAM uses artificial intelligence to validate petitions, each of which is a declaration in an electronic document, generated and transmitted regarding compliance with the regulations that tax and regulate the entry or exit of goods from the national territory.
“It is a very light layer, solely for the data consolidation strategy presented in the petitions. This artificial intelligence allows us to identify practices regarding the filling out of fields, some spaces in the petition, and this leads to improving the quality of the information,” said Cynthia Barrales, general director of Information Technology at ANAM.
In perspective, Barrales added: “Artificial intelligence will help a lot for risk analysis in foreign trade, for undervaluation and improper use of tariff fractions, all aligned with the federal government’s strategy.”
The undervaluation of merchandise is a type of technical smuggling and arises when the importer declares a customs value lower than that paid for the merchandise, in order to pay less taxes.
In Barrales’ opinion, a correct valuation will help increase Mexico’s revenue and the use of artificial intelligence will increase, without ultimately replacing human work.
In the Mexican market there are already companies that offer artificial intelligence services to assist in the correct classification of merchandise. But this task has important complications, because it requires knowing if they come in packages or if they have multiple uses, among a wide variety of considerations to take into account. Examples include games and assortments or electronic devices with many functions.
