The Free Consumers Association believes that the amount of taxes established by the Ministry of Finance for online purchases are implemented in order to discourage people from buying on the Internet.
Erick Ulate, president of the association, said
these taxes are collected illegally by the Treasury because there is a law that states that when you shop for the family and for one, taxes do not apply. However, the Treasury charges them. I do not know if there are internal pressures for this to happen, but we certainly have seen the hidden intention to discourage online purchases and we oppose this.”
According Ulate, current legislation states that taxes cannot be applied to personal packages, only when goods to market.
The expert also indicated that they are considering filing a complaint with the Contentious Court on this issue.
On the other hand, Fernando Rodríguez, deputy Minister of Revenue said Ulate’s claims are not true, because if so, no product could be taxed.
According to the deputy minister, what the Customs Act actually establishes is that the content of the suitcase, which corresponds to personal use, is exempt from taxes, but not online purchases for personal use.