Customs to probe smuggling of top three imported products

MANILA –The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is set to probe revenue losses amounting to billions of pesos from smuggling of top three imported products.

Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon has directed the intelligence and investigation service to look into reports of rampant oil, luxury vehicle, and cigarette smuggling in many parts of the country.

BOC records show that motor vehicle, oil, and cigarette smuggling are currently top sources of revenue leaks feared to hit more than Php50 billion per year, or almost 10.68% of the annual revenue target of Php467.9 billion.

“We are ready to use all available options in the probe against erring companies of oil, motor vehicle, and cigarette to make sure we control all forms of revenue leaks that are seriously detrimental to hitting revenue targets including proper trade facilitation processes of BOC,” the BOC head said in a statement.

Oil smuggling, common through pilferage (siphoning-off of oil from tankers to barges in high seas and then to oil trucks on land delivery to depots), is reportedly rampant while luxury vehicle smuggling is carried out through misdeclaration, misclassification, and/or undervaluation, both of which result in huge losses of government revenues.

Also cigarette smuggling robs the income of the government from non-payment of duties and taxes, aside from use of fake tax stamps of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Data also show that revenue losses from these three big tickets in Philippine imports contributes to the almost USD 3.85 billion (or Php165.5 billion, at Php45/US dollar exchange rate) revenue loss from smuggling yearly, or 35.4 percent of the current annual revenue target.

The report indicated that rampant luxury cars smuggling in the country were attributed to interests of Filipinos on modish and majestic vehicles.

Faeldon also points to “mis-invoicing” of imported goods, or fraudulent misrepresentation (misdeclaration), whether underdeclaration or overdeclaration, of the real value of goods as the prevalent malpractices which he wishd to address within his term.

With this, he revealed that a list of companies that are suspected to be engage in oil, motor vehicles (including high-end importers), and cigarette smuggling.

According to the 2016 report of the Bureau’s legal service, there are oil, motor vehicles, and cigarette firms that owe billions of pesos in unpaid taxes to BOC that are currently subject of court litigations, and soon hopefully be subject to agency’s administrative penalties.