THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced it expects to collect an additional P11.9 billion from importers through its post-clearance audits in 2019.
In a statement on Thursday, the BOC said letters have been issued to importers the agency suspects to have violated the provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA). The letters also demanded payment to government.
Of the 26 demand letters the BOC said it sent, 18 amounted to a total of P5 billion, which are subject of motions for reinvestigation and/or reconsideration. Eight letters demanded payment of P6.9 billion, which the BOC said still has yet to be settled. The latter have been referred to the agency’s legal service for the filing of a collection suit.
In 2019, the BOC collected P2.061 billion from post-clearance audits. The BOC said it collected last year about P1.2 billion on imports.
Preliminary data from the BOC shows the agency collected a total of P533.88 billion last year, overshooting its downscaled target of P501.33 billion by 6.49 percent.
Meanwhile, the BOC also reported that from last year until January 8, a total of 127 cases were filed against erring importers and customs brokers for violation of the CMTA and other pertinent laws.
Of the total number of cases, 75 criminal suits against various importers were filed before the Department of Justice while 52 administrative cases were filed against customs brokers before the Philippine Regulatory Commission.
The BOC said that during the same period, its legal service staff also resolved a total of 370 cases on appeal, including abandonment proceedings, seizure and forfeiture cases, determination of probable cause proceedings, and protests.
In terms of cases against erring Customs employees, the BOC said it also filed 48 disciplinary administrative cases from 2019 to 2020. These include 18 cases that were transmitted to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The BOC said that last year, about 11 cases were resolved, 17 are for resolution and 11 cases are under formal investigation.
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