P8.98M Misdeclared Goods Seized by BOC @ Manila Port

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seems to be back in action despite issues surrounding the agency. It has busted P8.98-million worth of shipments containing misdeclared cigarettes and fireworks from China last Monday.

Manila North Harbour (Photo from Wikipedia by Matikas 0805 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

According to news reports, the shipment declared as brackets arrived in Manila February 21, 2018, but was later found out to be Php 8.2-million estimated worth of cigarettes. The BOC seized two 40-footer vans when it arrived at the Port of Manila. Cigarette importers do this to avoid heavy taxes on the said products.

A separate shipment also arrived on December 31, 2017 and was alerted on February 27 for misdeclaration. It contained fireworks instead of the declared footwear.

"The hidden cigarettes were discovered by the initiative of the Office of the District Collector through profiling,"shares  Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña.

The fireworks will be turned-over by the BOC to the Philippine National Police-Firearms and Explosives Office, while the cigarettes will be destroyed.

The importers will face charges for violating the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

Bureau of Customs

It should be noted that Customs Commissioner Lapeña ordered the suspension of the "green lane" which spared qualified importers from x-ray inspections due to issues of corruption a few months ago.

It seems that the efforts of the new leadership of Bureau of Customs (BOC) is bearing fruit.