Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Cement group: Imports deprive gov't of taxes due By Carlo P. Mallo
THE Cement Manufacturers of the Philippines (Cemap) warns that the Philippine government will lose over P3.5 million worth of taxes and duties due to the importation of undervalued cement from China.
Romeo J. Pajarillo, marketing communications consultant of Cemap, issued this statement through electronic mail last Sunday.
The imported cement, Pajarillo claimed, is undervalued by as much as 52 percent of the $63 per metric ton.
Pajarillo also alleged that the published value for Portland cement by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is pegged at $43 per metric ton, while freight is estimated to cost over $20 per metric ton.
The shipment, according to Pajarillo, was declared by the importer at only $33.15 per metric ton - $30 for the product, $3 for freight, and $0.15 for insurance.
Cemap is seeking the assistance of the BOC-Southern Mindanao in the valuation of the cement, which arrived last February 15, from the port of Nanjing, China.
Pajarillo added that this is a repeat of the importation of over 8,000 metric tons of Conch cement in Polloc, Cotabato City in 2006. The said incident, according to Pajarillo, is still under investigation by the BOC Customs Investigation and Intelligence Services.
On the contrary, construction magnate Vicente Lao has denied the allegations in a press conference Wednesday last week.
He insisted there has been no under-valuation in the products that he has imported.
Lao added that the Conch brand he imported is one of the best qualities in the market.
He said he has imported cement, as the cement industry in the country cannot fully provide for the demand of cement.
He added that contrary to the local cement produced in the country pegs at 27.6 mega pascal, the Conch brand has breached the 40 mega pascal mark.
Lao said that Cemap is simply protecting a "cartel" of the cement industry in the Philippines.
He expressed that this is one way of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in getting back with the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industries Inc., after the latter severed ties with the former last year.
Lao said he will be filing his complaints in the proper forum.
