The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has intercepted shipments of smartphones and other high-tech gadgets with an estimated value of P60 million and 3,000 television sets worth P6 million.
Last September 7, BOC’s Enforcement Group (EG) seized one forty-foot container van containing gadgets misdeclared as casing thermos and gift boxes. Upon inspection, the shipment held 22,500 units of mobile phones; 1,000 pieces of tablet phones; 13,800 pieces of touchscreen phones; 6,000 pieces of smartphones; 4,000 pieces of remote controls for gaming purposes; 290 boxes of batteries, charger and headset; a box of mobile phone casings; and 582 bottles of red wine. The consignee, Uranus Enterprises have, will face charges of shipment misdeclaration.
A separate forty-footer suspected of containing ready-to-wear clothes from Kompong Som in Cambodia was apprehended by the Customs police. The alert order was, however, not served to the consignee since the address stated in their inward foreign manifest was fictitious.
The shipment will undergo 100% examination to obtain more information of actual content. BOC officials have recommended the issuance of a warrant of seizure and detention (WSD) against the shipment’s forwarder Manzen Air and Sea Freight for possible violation of Section 2503 in relation to Section 2530 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended.
Meanwhile, EG served a WSD against two local consignees for violation of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Department Administrative Order 2013-22 (Lack of Import Permit) and Section 2530 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended.
Almost 3,000 television sets from South Korea consigned to AB Wee Enterprise (AB Wee) and Ankwon Trading Corp. (Ankwon) were seized by BOC officials in four batches of forty-foot containers that arrived at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in May and June 2015.
The first two shipments contained 690 pieces and 691 pieces of TV sets while the second two contained 602 pieces. The total estimated value of all shipments is P6 million.
One importer held an expired import clearance; another was not even registered and therefore had no import clearance certificate.
Under DENR regulations, used TV sets are considered recyclable material containing hazardous substances that may be imported subject to certain limitations. An importer wishing to import used TV sets must obtain beforehand an import clearance from the Environment Management Bureau-DENR to ensure local laws are being complied with.
The MICP district collector has issued three WSDs and ordered the EG to seize the used television sets and turn over the same to the Auction and Cargo Disposal Division at MICP.
Image courtesy of Goldy at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
