The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) is devising a system to monitor the import value declaration of importers in a move to combat misinvoicing.
Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon at a recent forum stated that BOC is working on a value reference information system (VRIS), an electronic platform that sets the value threshold or standard for every imported commodity, based on the historical value of previous importations and on prevailing market values and statistical studies.
BOC, in a statement, said the system can monitor daily those importers declaring importations below the reference value. If issues arise from the transaction value declared, the importer will be asked to submit any document that will verify the declaration.
“The Bureau of Customs will push through with its implementation to avoid undervaluation of imports. This will protect legitimate importers and stakeholders from smugglers and corrupt stakeholders,” Faeldon said.
BOC has yet to finalize the system, but plans to launch it by February 2017.
Faeldon’s announcement comes as BOC recovered an estimated P1.7 million worth of duties and taxes from undervalued steel imports at the Port of Subic.
At the same forum, he reported that Mannage Resources Trading Corp. (MRTC) initially declared the transaction value of a shipment of 5,000 metric tons of deformed steel bars at $2 per metric ton—equivalent to P41.601 million worth of total duties and taxes.
But after the documents submitted were reviewed, the agency assessed the importation to be undervalued, and adjusted the freight charges to $16.50 per metric ton.
This raised the total duties and taxes to P43.331 million, or an increase of P1.730 million from the declared P41.601 million.
Under Section 1400 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, BOC cannot compel MRTC to pay surcharges since “no surcharge shall be imposed when the discrepancy in duty is less than ten percent (10%).” But MRTC has voluntarily corrected the undervaluation and paid the additional duties and taxes.
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