New SAT administration drives quick solutions to calm the tariff crisis with the US.

The United States tariff policy circumstances to Guatemala and the possible solution in the short term, is the first work front carried out by the new head of the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) Werner Ovalle.

The situation of foreign trade with the main commercial partner are the specific actions that are carried out with other institutions, thus improving the dispatch processes in the ports.

Ovalle provides an interview with your work program, the relationship with taxpayers and the actions to be developed to meet the collection goal that is Q108 thousand 737 million that will finance public spending. The Superintendent was sworn in Monday, April 14 to cover a period of five years and this is part of the conversation with Free press.

In general terms, what will your lines of action be?

There are three very specific issues. The first is the facilitation to taxpayer and tax culture that is based on promoting a voluntary payment, continuing to simplify the processes, automate and increasingly strengthen the information that is being provided to the taxpayer so that they can make their compliance.

The second is all risk management based on a comprehensive analysis in all the intentions that are part of the SAT and the objective is to attack the evasion and smuggling with the information that is administered, as well as strengthen the Tax Risk Committee.

The third is the execution of the Institutional Strategic Plan (PEI) that is important, because it will allow to have clarity where we want to reach 2030 that will allow articulating all the key objectives in strategic actions such as the operational plan to seek to strengthen collection.

In the crisis of tariffs with the USA.

That was the first institutional meeting and yesterday was addressed with the vice ministers of Economics, because it is important that this aspect of tariffs is treated from different perspectives and edges. For this, the analysis of each of the points of the report presented by the United States Government is already being carried out and the fundamental thing is to identify the actions to undertake with the commitment and will.

In that sense, the SAT has been asked to strengthen the aspects that lead to the customs service, which requires comprehensive and inter -institutional work, because many times that there is talk of customs, they also refer to ports; to the actors of the logistics chain or backgrounds, because it is the process of letting disadvantage of the goods, so we are verifying to be able to make the improvements and commitments.

I am of the idea that everything is improvable, so the continuous improvement is fundamental and will work closely with the Ministry of Economy (Mineco) that directs the negotiation and as a tax administrator the necessary approaches will be made to ensure exporters and we are hopeful in the work that is done with all the institutions and the private sector, we can reach a good term.

How can the current problem of traffic jams be solved in the ports?

A methodology would have to be counted to measure dispatch times. It is necessary to have clear what are the bottlenecks (congestion) since there are several institutions that have specific competences and powers and identify in which part of the link are the failures about it.

As a tax administrator, the same will be carried out from Customs in a perspective of facilitation to trade to be able to coordinate with the other actors. There is a trade facilitation committee that coordinates the Mineco, there is the dialogue space of the public-private table for customs issues and on April 23 a meeting will be held to make an update of those needs that exist in the field.

There is a commitment to attend these actions in a short term and to generate a whole mobility of the goods that at the end of the account benefits at the institutional scale for the payment of the taxes.

What programs will be subject to a review or improvement?

Internal level there will be a review and restructuring of several units and the first step is to work with the PEI to be clear where we want to arrive; From human resources, the administrative part and we are making the approach to create an ombudsman that is a figure that watches for the rights of taxpayers when there is a complaint for improvements of the tax administrator, so as not to be a judge and part in these issues.

The feedback of taxpayers with the aim of improving will be fundamental. Internal communication will work, because we want all workers to know the objectives we are looking for, the results that are obtained and keep in mind the challenges that will be presented.

The SAT is not only a topic of the Superintendent, the mayors or the Board of Directors, but are formed among all in the fulfillment of the institutional results.

The taxpayer, how should this administration receive?

This perception will depend on the degree of compliance that the taxpayer has. For example, anyone who meets all its tax obligations, deserves to have an institution that will provide you with the facilities for the payment of your taxes and how it fulfills its obligations would have a lower risk level.

Contrary to those taxpayers who do not comply with most of their tax obligations and here the perspective will be more control, more focused on the legal scope, control, information analysis through data governance.

So, the incentive we want to provide is to generate the conditions for the user to more and more perceive that ease of submitting to the tax offices or using virtual services. Towards that we go and invest every time in technology.

Would it be a Taxpayer friendly SAT?

We bet on that and some surveys will be carried out to have a feedback of the service received by the taxpayer and also what would expect from the tax administrator.

Workers can also know the limitations that the institution has had to provide a better service to the user, so we want to have the contributor’s perspectives as the internal personnel, so that added to it to make the decisions to simplify the efforts.

There is a component that is the use of artificial and analytical intelligence of data, which is a tool that will allow more control to be more facilitation, than by the use of the information we have, it will be allowed to know on both sides.

What changes could occur?

It is an issue that will be an evaluation to officials; Now I am in the stage of receiving the reports, knowing how each of the intentions is, the management and through the work that is done with the directory, will allow me to have the indicated elements to be able to carry out the changes that are required. I am focusing on having the reports, having the information to be responsible and make the decisions based.

Do you consider the goal of the Q109 billion collection for 2025?

In the first reports analyzed, everything point to what the collection goal and part of the work with the mayors and managers will be achieved is to review where there are some challenges and thereby generate concrete actions to be able to support the goal that collection is its main competence of internal taxes such as foreign trade.

What analysis do they have about the validity of the so -called livestock law?

Computer issues have already been carried out in order to comply with what is established by the regulations, there are some aspects that have to be regulated, as well as other institutions, so it is working integrally with these units and comply with the regulations and the scope of the institutions.