Saturday, January 12, 2008 P10M vehicles in 4 vans seized
FOUR vans containing 19 used luxury vehicles estimated at P16 million were seized yesterday by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The vehicles, which include a Mercedes Benz, several units of Mitsubishi Pajero, Montero and a Hummer, were declared as personal effects.
But because the 30-day reglamentary period to file the import papers has not yet lapsed, BOC Commissioner Napoleon Morales said they will wait for the owners to come and claim the cargo.
If ever there are claimants, the BOC will first summarize the violations of the Tariff and Customs Code before deciding whether or not they will release the shipment.
If no one claims the cargo, District Collector Ricardo Belmonte said they will declare the shipment abandoned and it will be forfeited in favor of the government.
“Importation of high-end vehicles is not regulated or prohibited. But the Supreme Court has already affirmed Executive Order 156, which prohibits the importation or bringing in of used motor vehicles,” said Morales, who led yesterday’s operation.
He said, though, that returning residents can bring used vehicles back to the country but they have to secure an import permit from the Bureau of Import Services (BIS).
Morales said that because most of those seized yesterday are right-hand-drive, the owners violated Republic Act 8506, which prohibits the importation, registration and driving of right-hand-drive vehicles.
When asked why the BOC failed to prosecute those who imported and shipped smuggled vehicles to the country, Morales said the bureau is not the prosecutor and they can only help establish the case.
“We file cases at the DOJ (Department of Justice), which, in turn, files them before the Regional Trial Court (RTC). We have filed 38 cases with 100 respondents already.
If I am not mistaken, seven cases were already submitted for resolution for filing with the RTC,” Morales said.
He further said that once there is a violation, the BOC automatically suspends the accreditation of the importer and broker.
Scan
Collector Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang, chief of the BOC monitoring group, said that if they have enough time, they would scan all containers that are selected under the “Red Lane” and those that are declared to contain personal effects.
“We have received information that the motor vehicles being smuggled are declared as personal effects,” Mangaoang said.
The four container vans that were opened yesterday and contained 19 units were declared as personal effects.
“So, those are our priorities, the ones selected red and those declared as personal effects,” added Mangaoang.
Three of the 19 seized vehicles were a Hummer H3, a Nissan Murano and a Toyota Sequioa, all worth P3 million and consigned to Asean Mandaue Trading.
The other vehicles seized are four units of Mitsubishi Pajero, three units of Honda Civic and two units of Mitsubishi Chariot worth P2.7 million; and four units of Mitsubishi Pajero and one Toyota Surf worth P4 million and consigned to New Era Enterprises.
These were apprehended by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Services (CIIS) led by lawyer Rico Rey Holganza.
Also in the list of the 19 vehicles is a Mercedes Benz and a Kia Pride, which were imported from South Korea by a certain Aurora Rustia. She declared them as personal effects. (EOB)
