TWENTY imported luxury vehicles worth a total of P61.626 million were destroyed on Tuesday by the Bureau of Customs-Port of Manila (BoC-PoM) on orders of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The President personally supervised the destruction process on the occasion of the 116th founding anniversary of the BoC.
A bulldozer was used in destroying the luxury vehicles, whose hoods were all opened, for the public to see that their engines were intact.
According to Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña, the President ordered the cars destroyed to prevent the consignees/owners of the vehicles from getting them back through a usually rigged auction or bidding.
The condemned cars include a Lexus, a BMW, a Mercedes Benz, an Audi, a Jaguar and a Corvette Stingray.
Simultaneously with the destruction at the PoM, 10 luxury cars were also destroyed at the Port of Davao and Port of Cebu.
Majority of them were used cars, the oldest a 1995 Mercedes Benz C280.
Five cars--4 Toyota Land Cruisers and a Mercedes Benz-- were declared as brand-new, all from the Port of Davao.
The shipments arrived on different occasions from Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and the United States, among other countries.
Lapeña said the vehicles were seized because of undervaluation and failure of the consignees to provide the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Authority To Release Imported Goods or Atrig.
The Atrig is an authority issued by the BIR, addressed to the Office of the Customs Commissioner, which allows the release of imported goods from the custody of Customs upon payment of right duties and taxes or proof of exemption from payment of such duties and taxes that must be issued prior to the shipments’ release.
Imported motor vehicles, apart from payment of Customs duties, are subject to excise tax, as provided for by pertinent revenue regulations from the BIR.
“If we did not alert these shipments, these could have been released from Customs custody without the required Atrig and correct valuation. The fact that the importers cannot produce the BIR clearance and declare the correct value of shipments sends a signal that something is questionable with the shipments,” Lapeña said.
The Customs chief ordered an investigation of Customs brokers and consignees’ permit to import luxury cars, to determine their liability and possible violation of Revenue Regulations 2-2016 and 25-2003 and Sections 1400 of Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016.
“This is a blatant disregard of Customs rules on importation. I am sure traders know what is required when bringing luxury vehicles into the country. I appeal to all importers not to disregard Customs laws or else you will face the consequences of your malpractice,” Lapeña said.