Venezuela tax agency closes Federal Express, DHL for two days

Venezuela’s tax agency imposed a two-day closure on courier companies including Federal Express and Deutsche Post’s DHL, part of an effort to punish tax law violations, officials said Monday.

The tax agency said in a statement that it temporarily closed six courier companies Monday for allegedly failing to keep their books in order.

Despite the order, the government allowed the companies to process a number of scheduled deliveries to prevent the measure from affecting paying customers, the tax agency said.

Venezuela’s tax agency has aggressively pursued tax evasion and bookkeeping irregularities as part of a “zero evasion” campaign.

The effort consists of fining and forcing the closing of businesses that fall short of their tax responsibilities.

Under chief Jose Vielma Mora, the tax agency has managed to increase tax collection at a time when the economy is growing.