BOC sets auction of misdeclared goods

Various goods worth about 112.9 million seized last year will be destroyed or auctioned, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said yesterday.

Agricultural goods such as onions and potatoes, cigarettes, motorbikes, and used clothing were among the shipments that will be subjected to condemnation and auction, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena said as he inspected the smuggled shipments at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) Monday.

The shipments, Lapena said, were seized and alerted due to misdeclaration and lack of import permits.

Yellow onions and potatoes worth P5.4 million were uncovered inside three abandoned containers from China on Dec. 8, 2017. According to Customs agents, the shipment was misdeclared as apples and it lacked the necessary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).The shipments was consigned to ZIDP Trading.

Four containers of onions worth P4 million were also seized by customs agents for lack of import permit from the BPI. The shipments from China and consigned to Kavin Shipping Ltd. arrived at the port on Sept. 15, 2017.

A shipment of Chunghua soft cigarettes worth 12 million, which arrived last Sept. 30, 2017 at the MICP, was also among the inspected shipments yesterday. The items were found inside an overstaying cargo from Korea which was consigned to Maxafrica Mfg. Pvt. Ltd.. The consignee failed to present the corresponding permit from the National Tobacco Administration which led to its seizure, Lapena said.

Used motorbikes worth 1500,000 will also be subjected to forfeiture after it was misdeclared as used compressors and water pumps. The misdeclared shipment came from Japan and arrived at the port on Sept. 22, 2017. It was consigned to Japare International Trading.

A shipment containing assorted wearing apparel from Korea was also seized after it showed suspicious images during x-ray scanning. The shipment was seized because it violated Republic Act No. 4653 which bans the importation of such merchandize. It was consigned to R.L. Son Trading and arrived at the port on Nov. 29, 2017.

All shipments will undergo seizure and forfeiture proceedings for violation of pertinent provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), MICP district collector Ruby Claudia Alameda said.

After the forfeiture proceedings, Alameda added, the used motorbikes will be auctioned to the public to indemnify the government of the duties and taxes due on the shipment.

The cigarettes, onions, used clothing, and potatoes, on the other hand, shall undergo condemnation as provided by the applicable provision in the CMTA.

Meanwhile, various fake products such as sandals, slippers, and shoes worth more than P4 million was destroyed at the MICP grounds yesterday.

The shipment was consigned to EMT Trading, Lapena said.

“This year, the BOC will really give the smugglers their most difficult time,” he said.