BOC eyes add’l P11B from oil importers

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales is banking on additional collections from unpaid duties and taxes on oil importations made in the last three years to offset a revenue shortfall for the past five months.

In an interview yesterday, Morales said a review of oil, chemical and liquefied gas imports in the last three years has shown that the importers owe the government an additional P11 billion in underpayment of taxes and duties.

The amount is based on the application of proper basis for assessing input duties as provided for under the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP).

Morales said importers have been paying less than they should on the claim that the volume of importation reaching the Philippines is less than the volume that was loaded in the country of origin.

He said the BOC hopes to put an end to this practice and collect the right duty based on the volume loaded at the port of origin through the issuance of Customs Memorandum Order 12-2007.

Morales earlier ordered the bureau’s Post Entry Audit Group to review, examine and audit all importations cleared in all ports of entry. He also ordered all district collectors to grant the PEAG access to all working copies of import entries and their attachments subject for review, and support the review measures being conducted by the group.

The BOC said it is giving importers a chance to correct errors in their import entries starting this month through the implementation of the Voluntary Disclosure program (VDP), as part of the bureau’s bid to beef up revenue efforts without having to go to court.