BOC seizes ‘hot’ P1.5-M TV sets from store chain

MANILA, Philippines - A high-end appliance store chain faces smuggling charges after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized seven television sets from its stores after it failed to produce proof of payment of duties and taxes.

The television sets, worth P1.5 million, were confiscated from Listening in Style stores at malls in Mandaluyong and Pasig.

The BOC listed the seized items as a 90-inch HD television set, worth P600,000; two 80-inch LED Sharp television set, worth P300,000 each; and four 60-inch LED Sharp television sets, worth P85,000 each.

The seizure stemmed from a request of Sharp Philippines director Silverio Montalbo for the BOC to conduct an investigation into the appliance store.

The legal counsel for Listening in Style submitted an offer of settlement, claiming that the sets were allegedly sold to them by an overseas Filipino worker. – Zinnia dela Peña, Evelyn Macairan