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Multiple smuggling charges were filed against a customs bonded
warehouse (CBW) operator and two steel firms before the Department
of Justice on Friday for an alleged illegal diversion of steel coil
worth P9.2 million without paying the corresponding duties and
taxes.
The administrative officials of Phil. Bonded
Warehouses Services, Inc. (PBWSI) and Perfect Steel Company led by
its respective presidents, Harvey Ringler and Jasper Tan, along with
licensed customs broker Eduardo Hebron and Customs bureau security
guard Gregorio Santos were all charged by the customs bureau for
violating the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.
Investigation showed the officers and directors
of the said firms, the operator of the
CBW and some unscrupulous customs employees
conspired to evade payment of duties and taxes. The probe revealed
that the case involved shipment of 36 coils of prime hot rolled
steel plates worth P9.292 million and corresponding duties and taxes
amounting to P1.852 million. The materials were consigned to PBWSI
for the account of SteelPro.
Save for the measly P250-documentary fee,
importation through CBWs or warehousing scheme is tax free, provided
the raw materials to be imported would be re-exported as finished
products.
Instead of complying with CBW rules, the
importer diverted the steel products to a private warehouse operated
by Perfect Steel and left P1.8 million worth of dues and taxes
unpaid.
Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said his
bureau is already keeping a tight watch on all CBWs, which uses
scheming importers for smuggling operations.
The Customs bureau also filed separate charges
against another firm, the Applied Energy Corp., for submitting
falsified documents in its application for accreditation as
importer.
-- William B. Depasupil
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