By Mayela Armas and Vivian Sequera
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela is planning to introduce new regulations on courier shipments of food, medicine and other products in an effort to raise more taxes, one government and two private sector sources said on Thursday.
So-called “door-to-door” courier services are used by some retailers to bring in goods such as toilet paper, detergent and diapers from countries including the United States.
They were originally used by individuals to circumvent shortages in Venezuela’s crisis-hit economy, but de facto dollarization has led retailers to also take advantage of the fewer restrictions and tax exemptions on the couriers.
The government provides no official figures on the volume of such shipments, which arrive by boat and plane. But in a bid to raise tax revenue amid U.S. sanctions and a faltering oil industry, the government is preparing to regulate them, the sources said.
“The door-to-doors will remain and we are working on regulations,” said a government source, without providing further details.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and other officials met with business people in late June to discuss regulation, but no specific measures came out of the meeting, the two private sector sources said.
This week several courier companies, who are generally local outfits, said on social media they would suspend shipments as they await official action.
Further regulations could make shipments – which can sometimes even include furniture – more expensive.
Retailers who receive shipments can often offer consumers lower prices on goods compared to local purchases in Venezuela, where inflation was 429% in the 12 months to May, according to the central bank.
The communications ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Mayela Armas and Vivian Sequera; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
