Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Ban on use of ‘alias’ by importers sought in bills By Elias O. Baquero Sun.Star Staff Reporter
THREE House bills have been filed to address smuggling involving the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the illegal registration of imported vehicles by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
The three bills were the result of a series of congressional inquiries on the allegedly rampant vehicle smuggling in Cebu. They are principally authored by Deputy House Speaker Raul del Mar and Rep. Pedro Romualdo, House committee on good government chairman.
The proposals to amend the Tariff and Customs Code (Presidential Decree 1464) and the Land Transportation and Traffic Code (Republic Act 4136) were also endorsed by Cebuano Reps. Antonio Cuenco, Benhur Salimbangon, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, Pablo John Garcia and several members of the House committee on good government and public accountability.
One of the proposed amendments is to prevent importers from using fictitious names.
Customs officials had testified in the House inquiries that they failed to run after smugglers because the latter used fictitious names and influential backers from the government and business sectors. So, the committee on good government also proposed the publication in newspapers and in the agency website of the list of importers and brokers accredited by the BOC.
Importers who are not in the list are presumed fictitious and the customs brokers who file an import entry using false names can be charged in court or before the Professional Regulation Commission.
The committee on good government conducted hearings on vehicle smuggling in Cebu on Dec. 10, 2007 and on Feb. 6, Feb. 13, March 5, April 23 and May 5, 2008. Officials of the BOC and LTO, buyers and businessmen, among others, were invited to these hearings.
Publication
The committee discovered that some importers were in cahoots with unscrupulous customs officials and brokers, who allegedly manipulated the value of imported goods to lower the duties and taxes.
Based on these findings, one of the proposals of the lawmakers is to amend Section 201 of the Tariff and Customs Code.
They want to mandate the customs bureau, in coordination with the industry, to publish, in a newspaper of general circulation and in the agency website, all updated reference values of imported goods. These will be based on the prevailing world market price, previous accepted customs values or the industry price.
The valuation of imported goods, however, will be in accordance with the system of valuation under the World Trade Organization agreements.
Another proposed amendment to Section 201 is to require from importers a “sufficient guarantee” in the release of imported articles. This can be letter of credit, surety bond or cash bond if the determination of values is not final.
The proposal is aimed at saving “buyers in good faith” from embarrassment and hassles because once an article is considered tax-deficient, the letter of credit or bond will be taken by the government to cover the tax due.
In a text message to Sun.Star Cebu, Congresswoman Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district) said that Congress will now see to it that those who buy imported articles in good faith must be protected.
Under the existing law, Section 1603 of the Tariff and Customs Code empowers the BOC to audit imported articles and make final adjustments on the duties and taxes, within three years from the release of the shipment.
Abuse
However, the committee on good government found out that this provision was abused by some customs officials. The proposal is to reduce the adjustment period to one year.
Also, under Section 2205 of the Tariff and Customs Code, there are five officials who are authorized to issue a warrant of seizure and detention (WSD). They are the commissioner, deputy commissioner for intelligence and enforcement, director of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, director of the Enforcement and Security Service and the district collector.
In the proposed amendment, only the district collector will be authorized to issue a WSD, since he has territorial jurisdiction over the imported goods at his port.
However, any decision of the district collector regarding seized articles must be approved by the customs commissioner.
Debate
In the proposed amendment on the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, the House committee proposed that imported vehicles not prohibited under Executive Order 156 may be registered with the LTO.
However, these should be accompanied by the appropriate import documents and proof of payment of taxes and duties.
Congressman Cuenco (Cebu City, south district), told Sun.Star Cebu that the bills can be expanded or amended in the formal presentation in Congress, when sessions start next month.
“There will be a long debate about customs and LTO once it will reach the House floor,” Cuenco said.
He added that he wants to propose that for effective monitoring of the entry of shipments, there should be one representative from the Commission on Audit and the media among the members of the Customs X-ray Scanning Unit.
“During the period of amendment, I will see to it that this provision will be included,” Cuenco said.
