The volume of fuel marked by the government nationwide has breached the 7-billion liter mark as it continue to intensify efforts to plug revenue leakages amid the virus pandemic.
Citing data from the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the bureau said in a news statement on Tuesday that the volume of petroleum products marked in all marking refineries and terminals nationwide has reached 7,041,752,018 liters from September 2019 to April 23, 2020.
By island group, Luzon has the highest share of marked fuel volume at 75 percent followed by Mindanao at 20 percent and Visayas at 5 percent.
“BOC fuel marking operations will continue during the extended period of the community quarantine,” it said.
Some 20 oil companies in the country participated in the program, BOC said.
These include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp., Seaoil Philippines, Unioil Petroleum Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum Corp., Chevron Philippines Inc., Oilink International Bataan, Insular Oil Corp., Total Philippines/Filoil, Jetti Petroleum Inc., PTT Philippines Corp., Marubeni Corp., Micro Dragon Petroleum Corp., Warbucks Industries Corp., High Glory Subic International Logistics, ERA1 Petroleum Corp., Golden Share Commerce and Trading Inc., SL Gas, Jade Link Subic Inc. and SL Harbor.
The government aims to collect at least P20 billion this year, which is half the estimated P40 billion in revenue lost to oil smuggling in the country.
Fuel marking makes use of a unique chemical marker capable of being embedded at a molecular level in petroleum products—gasoline, diesel and kerosene—thereby enabling authorities to test, identify and distinguish petroleum products with paid excise taxes.
Under Republic Act 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, petroleum products that are refined, manufactured, or imported to the Philippines, such as but not limited to unleaded premium gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel shall be marked by an official marking agent after payment of taxes and duties.