Source: Portal Medianeira - PR - 10/11/2009

Inspection loopholes in the lake area of ​​the border with Paraguay are allowing the pirated auto parts trade to invade stores across Brazil with false bearings, brake pads and shock absorbers. The annual volume of counterfeiting and smuggling that puts drivers' lives at risk reaches R $ 3,5 billion, according to the Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting (ABCF).

ABCF representative in Foz do Iguaçu, Luciano Stremel, says that the pieces are made in China with low quality material. The list includes automotive lamps, pumps, hoses, inserts and piston rings. “They invent brands that do not exist in the national market and make packaging in Portuguese. The brands do not refer to industries or Inmetro. And when they do, they are fake ”, he says. Some gangs counterfeit products using well-known brands, such as Mahle and Cofap.

Stremel says the crime uses the same logistics as the smuggling of medicines, weapons, cigarettes or drugs - that is, the 170-kilometer route from Lake Itaipu between Foz do Iguaçu and Guaíra. The stretch of the Paraná River that separates Foz do Iguaçu from the Paraguayan municipalities of Hernandárias, Ciudad Del Este and Presidente Franco is also the right passage for the product.

One of the reasons driving auto parts smuggling to soar is profitability. According to ABCF, the profit margin of smugglers in the aftermarket reaches 80%, because some products are resold at the same price as the originals.

The difficulty for the consumer to identify the counterfeiting is due to the technological advances of the graphic parks, which allow the reproduction of packaging similar to the original ones. ABCF estimates indicate that smuggled auto parts today represent 70% of the counterfeiting market. Another 30% comes from the reuse of junkyards.

Counselor of the National Union of the Industry of Components for Motor Vehicles (Sindipeças), Antônio Carlos Bento says that the formal Brazilian market loses between 5% and 10% with piracy and with the counterfeiting of auto parts, present today all over the country. Bento warns about the effects of counterfeiting. "The driver may have the vehicle damaged or even die," he says.

Seals

The Federal Revenue of Brazil (RF) has made constant apprehensions of pieces in the trade of Foz do Iguaçu and in the so-called secondary zone, an area that includes highways, river banks and the urban perimeter of cities. In one of the most recent events, piston rings valued at R $ 800 were seized.

The retained merchandise is not exclusively for cars. The parallel market also handles motorcycle and bicycle parts, in a flow that has become more constant since 2007.

The deputy delegate of the RF in Foz do Iguaçu, Rafael Rodrigues Dalzan, says that two types of contraband action have already been found. There are pieces carried by individuals, in luggage, and larger volumes taken by companies. "They issue a cold bill and try to ship the goods as if it were a legal product," he explains. Usually, according to the delegate, criminal groups, dressed as facade companies, try to hire a carrier and present a cold invoice, as if the goods had been legally imported. Most products arrive in Foz via river or lake and are loaded on trucks to continue their journey.

But the apprehensions are not limited to Foz do Iguaçu. ABCF constantly reports to the Civil Police, which have resulted in occurrences in several cities and states in Brazil, including São Paulo (SP), Porto Alegre (RS) and Gravataí (RS).

The delegate of the Operations Subdivision of the Special Police Operations Center of the Civil Police (Cope-PR), Francisco Alberto Caricatti, says that the city of Maringá is considered the largest center for counterfeiting parts in the state, while Curitiba appears as the main market consumer. The city of Londrina has also been included as a distribution center.

Caricatti says that the crime is only discovered after the consumer purchases the piece and complains to the manufacturer. Generally, an investigation is carried out and thus the falsification is confirmed. This year alone, according to the delegate, about 15 establishments were assessed throughout the state.

Prohibition

The purchase of parts for automobiles, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, boats, motorhomes and tires within the quota of US $ 300 has been prohibited since June this year. There is no possibility to pay excess tax on the quota, as with other goods. To bring any number of pieces from Paraguay, it is now necessary to formalize the order via customs broker. Taxes, according to the Federal Revenue Service, are charged according to the Common External Tariff regulated by the Mercosur Treaty. The determination is supported by Presidential Decree 6.870 / 09 and is valid for all Mercosur.

Even when the purchase in the quota was valid, the consumer could not bring repeated items or quantity that characterized commercial purposes, under penalty of apprehension. Therefore, even before the decree, sellers and buyers appealed to smuggling to circumvent the inspection.

From: Gazeta Do Povo On-Line