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THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) on Monday ordered the suspension of at
least 30 companies pending a review of their shipments following a
complaint that they were not paying the proper taxes.
The suspension means the companies cannot
transact business with the bureau in so far as import shipments are
concerned.
Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales
issued the suspension order on the 30 firms based on the complaint
lodged by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
Post Entry Audit Group (PEAG) Chief, Assistant
Commissioner Jun Ligon, said the PCCI furnished them a list of
companies whom they alleged were violating Customs Laws.
“There are around 30 firms in the list that
have been recently ordered suspended by the commissioner due to
[customs] violations pertaining to the specific description of
goods,” Ligon said.
The PEAG chief disclosed that based on the
complaint, the suspended firms were using values that were much
lower than those set by the Value Review Information System.
“Based on our initial findings under [the]
bureau records, the companies [have] also violated [the] rule and
declared their items only under general headings,” Ligon said.
The PEAG chief said that some of the sample
entries declared the items only as sheeting materials, which
according to rules set by the bureau should be given a specific
description. The same applies in the case of garments.
“There are different types of garments, there
is a corresponding tax for cotton, which is different from silk,
satin or other materials,” Ligon explained.
For this violation, the PEAG chief said Morales
ordered the temporary suspension of the firm’s transactions with
the bureau until such time the appropriate audit has been concluded.
He added the suspension will immediately be
lifted should a firm pass the audit. But if the practice of
undervaluation is detected, the firm will be made to pay immediately
the additional taxes.
“However, it could go the other way. If we
detect any fraud in our audit, we will instantly recommend the
filing of charges against the violators,” Ligon said.
-- Anthony Vargas
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