National Food Authority warns against fake import permits

MANILA, Philippines — State-run National Food Authority (NFA) has warned against the use of fake import permits.

NFA’s warning came after it received notice from the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) that it had been issued three import permits when in fact it had not applied for any new permit.

The three permits cover a total of 42,000 metric tons of rice to be discharged in the ports of Davao and Cebu. The two permits were allegedly issued last Aug. 24, while the other on Oct. 10, all with a validity of up to one year from issuance.

“Based on the NFA Council-approved guidelines, the import permit under the 2017 MAV rice importation program has a validity period of only 15 calendar days from the date of issuance and not one year as specified in the spurious permits,” NFA administrator Jason Aquino said.

PITC said the fake import permits are being offered or sold by unscrupulous parties to traders and importers.

The Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act classifies agricultural smuggling as economic sabotage.

This includes rice, with a minimum amount of P10 million, as valued by the Bureau of Customs, committed through importing into the country without the required import permit from the regulatory agencies or using fictitious or fraudulent import documents.