THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) said some erring rice importers have availed themselves of legal remedies to avert paying charges for their “undervalued” shipments last year, as farmers pressed authorities to move more quickly against violators to plug the huge revenue drain of the government.
Customs Assistant Commissioner and spokesman Vincent Philip Maronilla told the BusinessMirror on Thursday they have yet to collect the total P1.4 billion charged to over 40 erring rice importers, majority of which are farmers’ cooperatives. However, Maronilla has yet to disclose exactly how many of the rice importers resorted to the legal remedies and how many of those who availed themselves of legal remedies are farmers’ cooperatives.
“Wala pa. Some exhausted their legal remedy to file for [Motion for] Reconsideration,” said Maronilla, who also heads the BOC Post-Clearance Audit Group.
The development comes a few days after Sen. Cynthia Villar, head of the agriculture committee, urged Agriculture Secretary William Dar to closely monitor the farmer cooperatives amid reports that many of them are being used by rice traders and importers to buy from abroad. Besides paying the farmer groups a measly amount in exchange for using their permits, these unscrupulous businessmen also cheat the government by undervaluing their imports, an earlier investigative story by the BusinessMirror had showed.
In grilling DA officials, Villar recalled her own experience in helping post bail for small farmer groups who were manipulated by big traders, and were left holding the bag when investigations began.
While Maronilla earlier told the BusinessMirror that audited importers found to have violations would need to “pay under protest” even if they appealed, he clarified on Thursday that “a motion for reconsideration is not yet technically an appeal.”
For those who did not appeal and whose obligation is due and demandable, Maronilla said they “will endorse the same to the legal service for institution of a collection suit and possible issuance of a levy and distraint order.”
He said authorities “can also hold subsequent shipment and make them answer for any deficiency.”
Asked when they are targeting to endorse this to the legal service, Maronilla said: “We are just consolidating and will refer to legal service as soon as a consolidated report is done.”
Last month, Maronilla said 47 of the 55 auditees were “found to have committed violations of customs laws and regulations” for the audit period of March 5 to June 20 last year.
The deficiency assessment stemmed from several issues, including customs value, tariff classification, insurance, freight and surcharge.
Maronilla said earlier they are also conducting an audit of rice shipments covering January to June this year, and expect to finish this by yearend.
The BusinessMirror had also previously reported that “a percentage” of the P1.4-billion combined charges to be collected from the erring audited rice importers will go to the government’s rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF).
The Rice Trade Liberalization law mandates that rice tariffs collected by the government since its enactment in March 2019 until 2024 should be earmarked for the government’s RCEF.
The Federation of Free Farmers has also urged the BOC to fast-track the resolution of the audit cases and “finally end the practice of undervaluation” so that farmers would receive the correct amount of benefits that they should get from rice tariff collections.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila