THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) destroyed on Tuesday a dozen units of cigarette-making machines, more than 1,000 master cases of various brands of counterfeit cigarettes, as well as one luxury sports car.
The BOC said in a statement that Undersecretary Jesus Melchor V. Quitain, officer in charge, Office of the Special Assistant to the President, witnessed the destruction of the seized items at the BOC Compound, Port Area, in Manila.
The cigarette-making machines and fake cigarettes were seized last February by the BOC-Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) from a warehouse located in Barangay Bagacay, Tacloban City, after failing to present proof of payment of duties and taxes.
Warrants of Seizure and Detention (WSD) were issued against the said cigarette-making machines, which were eventually forfeited under Sections 1401 and 1113 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), while several master cases of counterfeit cigarettes were seized pursuant to the said provisions of the CMTA and Republic Act (RA) 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
“The seizure and destruction of the said goods serve as a warning to smugglers and manufacturers of fake cigarettes,” the BOC said. “This is in line with the directive of Secretary of Finance Carlos G. Dominguez III to the bureau to closely monitor the importation and manufacture of illegal cigarettes.”
The one unit of Ferrari, initially declared as used auto spare parts, arrived at the Port of Manila on May 13 and was declared abandoned and forfeited pursuant to Section 1129 of the CMTA.
“It was only upon physical examination that our customs examiner found out that the shipment actually contained a Ferrari with both doors and the hub dismantled from the main body,” the BOC added.
Earlier in the month, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported that the BOC said that the Customs agency of China has committed to help the bureau in its efforts to stop Chinese exports of unauthorized cigarette-making machines from entering the country in line with stopping illicit tobacco trade.
BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero pointed out that he reiterated the Philippines’s concern over the export of unauthorized cigarette-making machines to the Chinese vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) during the 28th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Customs Directors-General Meeting held in Lao PDR from June 11 to 13.
Guerrero said the Chinese customs officials agreed “to look into the matter.”
Last year, Dominguez directed the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to work with their respective counterparts in China to stop the illicit entry of cigarette-making machines that are being used to manufacture counterfeit tobacco products in the country.
The finance chief issued the order after confirming with BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay that the illegal tobacco trade has shifted from smuggling cigarettes to producing locally counterfeit brands using undocumented cigarette-making machines acquired from China.