TICA Program Causing Chaos At Customs, Union Charges
Earlier this year the Aduana (Customs) services introduced a new system to better manage goods coming into Costa Rica and with the objective of reducing corruption. However, the Sindicato de Trabajadores del Sistema Aduanero Nacional (Sitrasan) says that the plan known as Información para el Control Aduanero (TICA) fosters more irregularities.

Victor Rojas, secretary general of Sitrasan, assures that there are anomalies, including the loss of information, in the system. Rojas charges that the system is full of problems in the control of traffic of merchandise, which excludes the branches "zona francas" (free trade zones).

"With the TICA the number sequence for shipments was lost, creating chaos in the control systems. Now, entire containers loaded with merchandise can be lost without being detected by customs", said union leader Wilberth Arias.

"We have made requests to the Minister of Hacienda, Guillermo Zúñiga, but they have fallen on deaf ears", added the union leader.

The employees that are part of the Sitrasan union are asking the immediate intervention of the Contraloría General de la República (the Comptroller's office) to investigate the matter and want clarify the situation before any illegal trafficking of merchandise.

The union members also want a complete evaluation of the TICA system, saying that 96% of all merchandise that enters the country is not checked by customs.

Sitrasan members believe that the system that is to facilitate the customs process also promotes theft from government coffers as it is not collecting the duties and taxes it should be. In addition, the TICA system often crashes, Sitrasan charges, leaving the borders at Paso Canoas (Panama) and Peñas Blancas (Nicaragua) totally unprotected.