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Cryptocurrency extraction in Venezuela has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, mainly because of the economic crisis that the country is going through and which has become more acute in recent years.
Bitcoin extraction and the acquisition of cryptocurrencies in trading houses were one of the options that Venezuelans used to protect themselves from the economic situation . This is how the number of people who import mining equipment has increased and they are doing an activity that is profitable to them, taking into account that the electricity tariffs in Venezuela are among the cheaper and that cryptoactives have become an alternative as a store of value in the face of hyperinflation.
Although there is not much data regarding the evolution of practice in the South American country, some publications claim that this type of operations began in 2014 in the Caribbean countries, starting with the worsening economic crisis. On this, the founder of Bitcoin Venezuela, Randy Brito estimated, according to the publication of the agency AFP at the end of 2017, that at that time some 100,000 Venezuelans already mined cryptocurrencies .
Brito pointed out difficulties in obtaining accurate data because many operators are protected using servers from other countries, but assured that a large number of people imported equipment from China, "and even paid the others to buy them."
cited the difficulties to import cryptocurrency mining equipment in Venezuela due to the collapse of access to the pages for online shopping on the Internet and the costs of additional customs at the customs . All this with the high cost of equipment, listed in thousands of dollars, very difficult currency access to Venezuela given the strict exchange controls in force, which represents – to the changing market unofficial – large sums of money. money in the local currency: the bolivar. However, many Venezuelans made the effort to buy them and start practicing their activities virtually clandestinely.
The profitability of mining in Venezuela has grown the sector in the country in recent years. Image source: scharfsinn86
To the above difficulties were added equipment seizures and the dismantling of mining operations by the Venezuelan authorities, events that were repeated on a large scale in various parts of the country. country in 2017, despite the fact that the activity was not legally prohibited.
Prospects seemed to improve at the end of last year and early 2018 with the launch of the first cryptoactive of the Venezuelan state, the Petro, with the creation of the Superintendency of Venezuelan Cryptoactives and Related Activities (SUPCACVEN) and the declaration in the Official Gazette of the legality of the mining trade. Even so, the process of importing material continues without being free of obstacles.
The process of importation to Venezuela and its stages
According to exposes the National Association of Cryptocurrencies (Asonacrip), in his Twitter account, the process of Importation of mining equipment in Venezuela "is very simple" and begins with the completion of the online purchase and election of an international shipping company . It recommends the selection of trajectory companies and avoid door-to-door delivery companies, as it is necessary to pay a nationalization fee to customs, according to the requirements of the National Integrated Customs and Tax Administration Service ( Seniat). the registration page for minors in Venezuela. Image source: screenshot of the site
In a second step, it is indicated the realization of an inscription via the portal, in order to obtain a certificate procedure for "digital mining" of the Blockchain Association of Venezuela and SUPCACVEN, to be delivered to the chosen import company. To register on this portal, it is necessary to create a user on the site and fill out an online form in which are requested the personal data, the phone number, the email and the number of the user. # 39; tax information registration (RIF) of the company interested in importing and the characteristics of the equipment to import.
According to data provided by former Superintendent Carlos Vargas, until last January, some 55,000 people related to the sector were listed on this portal. It should be noted that the Superintendency advises to wait for this certificate to be imported, stating that it is the only entity authorized in the country to grant these permits.
On this point, the government entity ensures that its equipment is under constant evaluation and selection of these companies, the results of which will be informed in a timely manner. These certificates began to be delivered last February and constitute the preliminary step to obtain a license as a "digital miner" .
The third step to continue to import is to inform the shipping company about the value of the equipment in order to proceed with the calculation of the nationalization fee before the Seniat .
In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that any item purchased outside Venezuela is subject to these nationalization policies. To make this calculation, according to Asonacrip, the commercial invoice must be presented with the description of the content because it depends on whether or not it is released by the Venezuelan customs, institution which determines the amount to be paid for the concept of tariff taxes according to the type of goods, in this case, cryptocurrency mining equipment in Venezuela.
However, according to a statement issued by SUPCACVEN on June 6, 2018, the requirement of this bill has been eliminated. Buy as a requirement, claiming that this is not provided for in the requirements. In the present case, it has been stated that the services of should require only proof or proof of purchase of the mining equipment or the product, in addition to the certificate of superintendency.
It should be added percentages of the tax vary between 5% and 20% of the value of the goods taking into account the cost, insurance and the cargo (CAF) of the product. To this payment must be added 1% for administrative costs (Seniat) and 12% for value added tax (VAT).
Asonacrip recommends paying attention to additional regulations that indicate both the Seniat and the Superintendency. Cryptoactives regarding the importation of mining equipment, in addition to reporting to the latter government agency any irregularities that occur during the process, by email [email protected].
Barriers to Minor Equipment Imports
At this point, it is important to recall some of the problems that arise in the practice of the previous procedure, which were reported by importers at the time of importation. during the last months.
First, the retention of equipment and the collection of additional taxes at the customs . In this regard, some miners reported unofficially to CriptoNoticias that under the concept of nationalization fee for cryptocurrency mining equipment in Venezuela, fees can range from $ 100 to $ 300. So, for computer components to extract with GPU, you can charge 100% of the cost of the equipment, and for a $ 100 motherboard you would ask for $ 110, while for an AntminerS9 ASIC, which the value is $ 800, the rate would be $ 300.
On the other hand, some shipping companies have proceeded to the deactivation of the import of certain equipment. Specifically, the company Liberty Express decided at the end of May 2018, the inclusion of processors, RAM cards, hard drives, video cards, power supplies, CPUs, fans, extractors, memories and "Bitcoin machines" in the list of L & L items Company, consulted by CriptoNoticias assured that she could not provide details indicating that everything was due to the instructions of the authorities . To these news were added local media publications on government regulations that prohibited companies from sending mobile phones, electronic equipment, computer parts, mining equipment and all types of computer cards. But this information was denied by the SUPCACVEN, which reiterated the legality of cryptoactives extraction and import, as long as there is a permit.
Difficulties of access to information
In general terms, it can be said that the import of cryptocurrency mining equipment follows some processes that are not very clear in Venezuela, because although the authorities reiterate that it is a legal and authorized activity, there are many information gaps that do not allow to understand and what is allowed and what is not. Seeking clarification CryptoNoticias has tried to contact representatives of government entities to request official information, but no response has been received.
These ambiguities made the situation more complex and led many companies to be unrelated to the import process. of these equipments. One of them is Bitmain, one of the largest cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturing companies on the market, which has disabled its shipments of equipment to Venezuela in due to irregularities around the country's import legislation and even to establish clearer parameters
Since the appointment in June of a new superintendent at SUPCACVEN, no new information has been disseminated on the subject. The position is now occupied by Joselit Ramírez, who – from his appointment – has not made any statements to the media, nor has he posted messages on the organization's Twitter account.
Featured image by Wit / stock. adobe.com
