The facilities of some oil players will implement live fuel marking this month as part of the country’s fuel marking program, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The terminals of Pure Petroleum Corp., Phoenix Petroleum Corp., Unioil Petroleum Philippines, and the entire network of Chevron Philippines, Inc. will follow Seaoil Bulk Terminal in conducting fuel marking.
Seaoil underwent live fuel marking on August 2. Since then the facility has marked a total of 71.379 million liters of fuel.
“The implementation of the Fuel Marking Program is a milestone for the Bureau of Customs as well as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Department of Finance (DOF), as we have painstakingly worked together to ensure the success of the Program. With the cooperation and support of partner agencies and stakeholders, we are ready to implement the Fuel Marking Program and make it work,” Customs commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said in a statement.
Marking of fuel products, whether imported or manufactured in the Philippines, becomes mandatory five years after the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law took effect in January 2018.
Formally launched last February, the fuel marking program also includes random field testing and confirmatory tests to check for compliance of the fuel required to be marked.
Joint Circular (JC) No. 01-2019, signed last July, executes the mandatory marking—after the taxes and duties have been paid—of refined, manufactured, or imported gasoline, diesel and kerosene in the Philippines, including those withdrawn from Free Zones to be introduced into the country.
BOC for its part has issued Customs Memorandum Order 43-2019 to implement JC 001-2019.
Six months from the initial marking, all petroleum products found in the domestic market including those stored in storage tanks, depots and terminal facilities shall be tested for compliance with the fuel marking program. BOC said this means that by February 3, 2020, all gasoline, diesel and kerosene products are expected to be marked completely. Simultaneously, BOC and BIR personnel will start field testing and begin to impose penalties, if necessary, for oil companies proven to have unmarked, adulterated and/or diluted fuel.
DOF expects to collect an additional P20 billion in revenues with the full implementation of the fuel marking system next year.
“We’re hoping to collect at least, by next year, P20 billion, which is half of the estimated amount of the smuggled revenue,” DOF Undersecretary Antonette Tionko earlier said.
The Petroleum Institute of the Philippines, which supports the program, earlier said that prior to the passage of the TRAIN Act, around P40 billion in government revenue were being lost to petroleum smuggling, a figure it said was validated by various independent studies.
According to JC 001-2019, sister agencies BOC and BIR will implement the program, including collecting the marking fees.
Under the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, BIR shall collect the fuel marking fees for locally refined or manufactured petroleum, while BOC shall do this for imported petroleum products.
All costs from procuring the official fuel markers shall be borne by the refiner, manufacturer, or importer of petroleum products. The government may subsidize the cost of official fuel markers in the first year of implementation.
