A total of 10 containers of allegedly illegal imports worth an estimated P14 million have been seized at the Port of Manila (POM) by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on separate occasions.
Seven 40-foot containers of ceramic tiles and sanitary wares, consigned to Linking Enterprises, were seized after they arrived at the Port of Manila in January 2015 from China.
A document and physical examination revealed the shipment was grossly undervalued, and was misdeclared in weight by more than 30%. The importer declared the shipment’s volume to be 121,720 kilograms with a value of P216,139. Its actual weight turned out to be 174,362.8 kilograms with a value of P529,382, or a 59% difference (P313,243).
BOC also seized a container of circuit breakers undervalued by as much as 84%. The shipment was consigned to Fortress Kinetic Electrical Enterprises.
Two containers holding steels sheets, a dryer machine, a molding machine, polycarbonate, and pigment used to produce galvanized roofs were also nabbed due to a discrepancy in weight of more than 30% and for not declaring various items inside the boxes. The shipment consigned to Aberjov Trading had an estimated value of P1.88 million.
Lastly, BOC seized one 20-foot container of polyurethane resin for gross undervaluation. The declared value was only P97,538 when the actual value upon examination was P258,923, or a discrepancy of P212,595 or 63%. The shipment was consigned to Richneil Marketing.
