Determinants and Pervasiveness of the Evasion of Customs Duties

Sebastien Jean and Cristina Mitaritonna ()

Working Papers from CEPII research center

Abstract: Evasion of customs duties is a serious concern in developing countries, where tariff receipts are often important, but their collection is often problematic. We study theoretically and empirically the determinants of evasion across countries and products, based on a systematic analysis of discrepancies in trade declarations - when available - for both partners. We conclude that evasion of customs duties is greater in poorer countries, especially where the rule of law is limited. The consequences are likely to be the most serious in the poorest countries, where we find a one percentage point higher tariff to be associated on average with an understatement of imports of 1% or more. We assess some policy remedies and conclude that automated customs data treatment may be particularly useful.

Keywords: Tax evasion; Custom duty; Institutions; International trade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 H26 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (31)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Determinants and pervasiveness of the evasion of custom duties (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cii:cepidt:2010-26

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