Friday, February 01, 2008 LTO registrars accept renewal sans clearance
LAND Transportation Office (LTO) 7 registrars yesterday decided to accept applications for renewal of registration of imported Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), pending clarification of agreement between LTO and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The MOA, signed last year by Assistant Secrerary Reynaldo Berroya of LTO and Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales, stipulates that LTO will not renew the registration of SUVs without a BOC clearance. The memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed to make sure that tax deficiencies of vehicles are paid.
In a meeting the other day with BOC Port of Cebu District Collector Ricardo Belmonte, Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) Director Ariel Palcuto and Deputy Director Virginia Palanca-Santiago of the Office of the Ombudsma-Visayas, LTO 7 Director Raul Aguilus said he will immediately implement the MOA.
Aside from requiring the SUV owners to submit machine copies of the Certification of Registration (CR) and Official Receipt (OR) in the application for renewal, LTO started requiring a BOC clearance.
Under LTO rules and regulations, the registration of all vehicles with plate numbers ending in “1” must be renewed not later than Jan. 31. Those who do not meet the deadline are fined 50 percent of the original fees.
Threat
Owners of SUV vehicles with plate numbers ending in “1” and who claimed to be “buyers in good faith” threatened to file charges against LTO registrars who will refuse to renew their registrations.
They said they were not informed about the MOA and they didn’t know whether it was published in a newspaper.
When asked about it, Alita Pulga, registrar of the LTO in Cebu City, and Aurelia Angcay, registrar of LTO in Lapu-Lapu City, said they allowed the renewal of registration of vehicles pending an official order from higher officials.
Pulga said that despite the renewal of registration without a BOC clearance, the tax deficiency, if there’s any, can still be collected during the renewal period in January 2009.
Belmonte confirmed that Aguilus assured Palanca the MOA will be implemented this month.
Belmonte said the refusal by LTO to renew registration of SUVs and sedans without BOC clearance is the best way to check tax-deficient vehicles.
He said that if tax-deficient vehicles are seized, BOC will have problems because it has no impounding area. He also said that it will be embarrassing to owners, especially if they bought it in good faith.
Under the system,BOC will check whether a vehicle is tax deficient before issuing a clearance. Once the tax deficiency is paid, a clearance will then be issued in favor of the owner.
Belmonte said also that during their meeting, Palcuto urged the Cebu Automobile Dealers Association to help identify smuggled vehicles so they can conduct operations. (EOB)
