ABRAPEM signs partnership with ABComm

After the event “Paving the Way for Fraud-Free Trade in Goods and Services”, carried out by ABRAPEM – Brazilian Association of Scale Manufacturers, Weights and Measures, Permit holders and importers in June at Fiesp in partnership with Remesp, ABRAPEM in contact with ABComm – Brazilian Electronic Commerce Association, formalized a partnership to combat the sale of scales and other irregular metrological instruments in e-commerce

The president of ABRAPEM, Carlos Amarante, he explained that the event "Exploring Paths" aimed to find solutions to combat fraud in the sale of irregular measuring instruments and it was demonstrated that we have at least two major problems: irregular entry into Brazil and its sale through e-commerce channels. In this way, nothing is more natural than seeking the most representative association of the segment for joint work. And the result could not be more promising. The president of ABComm, Mauricio Salvador, says that there is much to be done to combat the sale of irregular items on e-commerce platforms and proposed the formation of a joint committee to seek solutions to this problem. "It is our interest to contribute to the sector acting ethically", said Mauricio

Amarante, in turn, recognizes that some e-commerce companies already restrict the offer of irregular instruments and wishes that others act in the same way, filtering these ads efficiently and punishing those who sell irregular products. According to Amarante, unfortunately, the presence of advertisements for irregular metrology instruments, mainly scales, it is huge, in the house of thousands of units, and we are confident that with the support of ABComm we will be able to reach a solution that meets legal requirements, ensure fair competition and the rights of consumers and users of these instruments

According to ABRAPEM, the numbers of the regular and irregular scale market in Brazil would be the following

Regular and irregular imports of scales in Brazil:

Notes:

1. Data based on Siscori, RFB system interrupted in 2021
2. Losses based on average market prices in R$
3. Despite the decreasing quantities, such was not verified in commerce, what would prove that irregular imports remained high, but could not be identified

Sample of e-commerce offers:

Notes:

1. Data based on information provided by an e-commerce platform for scales over 50 kg
2. Based on the data above, a single platform would have sold, in the period, a total of irregular scales corresponding to23,8%of all the scales approved by Inmetro in this category, that is, for every four legal scales in Brazil, an irregular scale would be sold only by an e-commerce platform

From the data above, we can infer that the irregular scale market is significant, implying millions of R$ in revenue losses, in loss of income for the productive sector that pays taxes and generates jobs, in losses to the consumer when buying by weight and receiving less in weight than what was purchased and paid for, and in loss of industrial quality when manufacturing using irregular scales, transmitting a lack of quality to the final product, which may result in damage to the image and financial losses. The partnership between ABRAPEM and ABComm aims to combat these distortions and make the market fairer where everyone wins