BOC bars shipments until oil firm pays P2.7-B fines

Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Napoleon Morales yesterday instructed the Port of Manila (POM) district collector to put on hold all the shipments of a major oil firm that has yet to settle penalties amounting to P2.7 billion.

Last Friday, Morales approved the recommendation made by the BOC legal service department to implement Section 1508 of the Tariffs and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), which authorizes the BOC to hold delivery of any article imported or consigned to the delinquent importer unless the importer settles its obligation against Oilink International Corp.

Morales issued the order after seeing no reason to enter into a compromise with Oilink International Corp., which was charged with an administrative case by the Post Entry Audit Group (PEAG) last year for refusing to cooperate with the government’s routine audit of oil importers. Oilink did not present its importation records for 2004 to 2007.

The bureau’s legal team ruled in favor of the PEAG last Dec. 14, imposing a penalty of P2.7 billion against Oilink, equivalent to 20 percent ad valorem tax.

The same day, the Office of the Commissioner issued a demand letter and asked Oilink to pay the administrative fines. This call was reiterated in another letter last March 13.

Last April 2, the bureau received a letter from Oilink lawyer Norman Bueno raising the issue of a prior voluntary offer to settle and motion for reconsideration.

However, Assistant Commissioner Jun Ligon, who heads the PEAG, disclosed that the firm’s offer to settle their penalties with P15 million is too little, aside from the fact that the time for filing a motion for reconsideration has already lapsed. The deadline was last January, and the BOC received the letter last Febuary.