An inspection operation in Sancti Spíritus resulted in over 200 fines and the closure of at least five private businesses, primarily due to violations related to pricing and the use of electronic payment gateways.
The sanctions were announced on Tuesday by the state telecentre CentroVisión Yayabo. Most of them were related to pricing irregularities, while another group was associated with non-compliance with electronic payment regulations.
The inspectors detected, among other irregularities, businesses that refused to accept electronic payments or charged different prices depending on whether the customer paid in cash or by transfer. They also reported issues with the quality of goods, outdated information for consumers, and expired products.
The operation involved municipal and provincial inspectors, along with officials from ONAT and the Ministries of Labor and Internal Trade, and focused on establishments located on some of the city's main thoroughfares and commercial areas.
"Everything is going to get more difficult."
The news sparked a wave of criticism on social media, where many Cubans questioned why the government’s response to the issues facing private commerce remains focused on fines and closures.
"Hahaha, keep up the witch hunt, because not even little Martina the cockroach is going to come to invest," one user mocked.
"All the businesses are closing because they want to evade fines and inspectors... where is this all going to end? It's just more of the same, and the problem isn't going to be solved," commented another person.
Others warned that the tightening of inspections could end up further reducing the supply available to consumers.
"Many self-employed individuals will start closing down, the fines are quite high, and everything is going to get more difficult; things will come from the black market and prices will skyrocket," pointed out an internet user.
Some commentators even questioned the procedure used to impose the sanctions. Two of them cited the to argue that the inspectors would not be authorized to directly apply certain fines at the moment of detecting an infraction.
"The inspectors cannot impose fines once the alleged violations are detected because that is not the established procedure, and when this rule is violated, the fines are null even if the violation is valid," stated one of them.
The conflict over electronic payments occurs amid the government's difficulties in expanding the banking of the economy.
The official press itself acknowledged in July the poor results of the process: only 3.77% of the transactions carried out in Cuba are digital and, in Sancti Spíritus, less than 10% of private businesses regularly accept transfers.
Entrepreneurs have pointed out a contradiction that makes it difficult to move away from cash: numerous suppliers, wholesalers, and importers require payments outside of banking channels or in foreign currency, while businesses struggle to withdraw the necessary cash from banks to restock merchandise.
"If the payment chain does not translate into electronic operations from wholesale MSEs and importers, everything else will continue to exist with a trend toward illegality as something normal," summarized a user.
Inspections in Sancti Spíritus are part of an offensive that has spread to several provinces. In previous days, five businesses were closed in Bayamo for refusing to accept payments via transfer, while in Guantánamo, the authorities announced similar sanctions.
In Havana, the municipal government of Plaza de la Revolución also for certain price violations in private establishments.
The Central Bank of Cuba attempted to ease some regulations in July, removing the limit of 5,000 pesos for cash payments between economic agents and reducing the commission for commerce from 1.5% to 0.8%.
However, the operation in Sancti Spíritus once again highlights the gap between official demands and the everyday functioning of an economy characterized by cash shortages, weak banking infrastructure, and a supply chain that still largely relies on operations outside of electronic channels.
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