The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has asked 18 importers of resins and five importers of iron and steel to pay a total of P2.055 billion to cover deficiencies in their duties and taxes.
Of the total, the estimated tax deficiency for resins importers amounted to P2 billion while that for iron and steel importers is P55 million.
Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina asked the importers to pay within 10 days or file an appeal within 30 days upon receipt of the demand letters.
None of the 23 importers submitted a single comprehensive reply (SCR) to audit findings of the Department of Finance (DOF)-Fiscal Intelligence Unit (FIU), prompting the unit to submit its final audit reports and recommendations to the BOC and for Lina to issue the assessments and demand letters.
Notices of Schedule of Post Entry Audit Findings (PEAF) were issued by the DOF-FIU in September for resins importers and in October 2014 for iron and steel importers.
In the PEAFs, DOF-FIU informed importers it had reason to doubt the accuracy of their declarations and that they were being given 30 working days to submit an SCR and documents to support their earlier declarations.
“With these initial findings, we consider the post-entry audit process as an effective and efficient tool to balance the Government’s commitment to anti-smuggling, trade facilitation and revenue generation,” Lina said in a statement.
“This system is a win-win solution for both the trading community and the government as the system addresses many of the problems in importation. For the importers, the system expedites clearance of goods by reducing the frequency of customs interventions at the border and resolving issues after release of goods to the importer,” the Customs chief added.
The DOF-FIU has been conducting post entry audit of importers since June 2014 pursuant to Department Order No. 44-2014.
The PEA system is an internationally accepted best practice aimed at increasing trade facilitation, encouraging voluntary disclosures, reducing incidence of fraud and protecting government revenues while increasing efficiency and lessening costs at the customs border, BOC said.
The audit is an evaluation of relevant company practices and records generally conducted by the DOF-FIU after the release of imported goods from the Customs border to determine the integrity of information submitted to Customs at the time of entry lodgment. – Roumina Pablo
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