|
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Protest by importers hits Cebu port
By Elias O. Baquero
CEBU CITY -- A silent protest by importers is dragging down collections of the Bureau of Customs in Cebu, which earned less than half of its collection targets for two consecutive days now.
The “unprecedented low collections” were because importers did not file import entries to manifest their protest against the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
View here the list of local winners
Days ago, one importer suffered humiliation because of PASG’s alert order on possible smuggled goods, a suspicion that turned out to be wrong because the consignee properly declared the goods as steel coils and paid the correct duties and taxes.
Worse, Armop Trading also had to spend more because of PASG’s mistake, as its 31 vans were still not released because the alert order must first be cleared by the Office of the Commissioner in Manila.
For two days now, most of the importers did not file import entries.
The other day, the Port of Cebu collected only P3 million, against the daily target of P18.18 million.
On Tuesday, it collected P8.7 million, or P9.48 million short of the target.
“It’s like a holiday here at the Bureau of Customs,” said Assistant Assessment Chief Florante Ricarte.
Ricky Gantuangco of the Professional Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines (PCBAPI) said their clients and the other importers are protesting the “unnecessary procedures” implemented by the newly-formed PASG, which issues alert orders on legitimate shipments on mere suspicion that these contain untaxed items.
Gantuangco said that the PASG should qualify who should be placed under “humiliating” alert orders.
He also said that importers like Philippine Transmission Corp. (Transco) and San Miguel Corp. must be treated with courtesy because they have high credibility.
He, however, confirmed that there are also companies importing from Japan, South Korea, and China that have derogatory records and must be closely monitored.
“They (PASG) may also include the track record of the broker in the criteria for opening a container van,” Gantuangco said.
Porferio Montesclaros of the Mactan Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers (Mepzcem) has warned government authorities that what happened to other importers should not be done to their members, otherwise, company operations will be affected.
A day’s delay in the delivery of raw materials to the manufacturer will mean millions of pesos in losses, Montesclaros said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo created the PASG last May 21 through Executive Order 524. Antonio Villar Jr., a former mayor of Angeles, Pampanga, heads it.
But the problem, said Port of Cebu Assessment Chief Carlos Corsiga, is that members of the PASG come from the Philippine Coast Guard, National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police who have no knowledge of the Tariff and Customs Code and the valuation system.
“What this group (PASG) is doing is just like a fishing expedition,” Corsiga said.
District Collector Ricardo Belmonte, who recorded an excess collection of P10 million in June and P46 million in the first semester of 2007, told Sun.Star Cebu that he hopes everything will be settled soon, fearing they might not meet their targets for July. (Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (July 4, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
SC rejects Ong's appointment to high court