Jetti fuels PH economy with compliance, infra
JETTI Petroleum Inc. bolsters the Philippine (PH) economy with the compliance in the payment of dues and taxes and with the rollout of national infrastructure projects, beginning with a new import terminal in Camarines Sur and following through with retail expansion in the Bicol region and across the archipelago.
With such fiscal support and with infra development in the pipeline, Jetti is one of the reliable companies that has managed to make it through the economy still hugely battered by the Covid-19 infection.
Due compliance
From its head office at Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City, Jetti has remitted a total of P4.8 billion in taxes to the government as part of its compliance with the fuel marking program.
The petroleum corporation has paid total dues and taxes amounting to P2,801,223,702, based on a certification issued by the Bureau of Customs (BoC), dated Feb. 17, 2021.
The corporation paid an additional P1,962,512,139.25 in duties and taxes as indicated by the bureau in a separate certification, dated Feb. 23, 2021.
Based on the two certifications issued by the BoC, Jetti was the top 3 importer of petroleum products in 2020.
The fuel-marking program is mandated under Republic Act 10963 or the “Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act” to curb oil smuggling and misdeclaration of petroleum products in the country and increase revenue collection from taxable imported and locally refined fuel products.
The program is projected to generate an additional P20 billion in government revenues.
The nationwide fuel testing and program enforcement on the retail side started on February 3 last year. Switzerland-based security ink company Sicpa SA and verification and certification firm SGS Philippines Inc. were hired to implement it.
So far, the government has collected P192.7 billion in duties and taxes from Sept. 4, 2019 to Feb. 17, 2021 through the fuel marking program. This is equivalent to 19.90 billion liters of marked fuel products.
Fuels found unmarked or with marker levels below the prescribed dilution level would be subjected to confirmatory tests, and corresponding duties and taxes would be collected if required.
The BoC professed in the two certifications that Jetti “is a compliant importer in the fuel marking program of the Bureau of Customs.”
Infrastructure expansion
Jetti welcomes 2021 with “cautious optimism” as it expands its footprint in the country with lined-up projects.
In an email interview with The Manila Times, Jetti President Leo Bellas revealed that the independent oil company is developing a new import terminal in Pasacao, Camarines Sur.
The oil company is expecting to complete the construction of the terminal with a storage capacity of 45 million liters on or before the end of May this year and commence commercial operations a month later.
Besides that, Bellas said the company will carry on with its retail network expansion. The company “aims to open 50 new stations between March to December 2021.”
With the Bicol region as the priority, various parts of the country will have its own Jetti station soon.
“Jetti’s 2021 capex (capital expenditure) is primarily for the construction of additional gasoline stations,” said Bellas, adding that the opening of new stations will occur between March and December.
Established in 1998, Jetti is a 100-percent Filipino-owned independent oil company with over 150 gasoline stations across the country.
The company has two import terminals and four domestic terminals with a combined storage capacity of 150 million liters.
Jetti Petroleum Inc. opened 32 new stations from August to December 2020 and another 10 stations in the first two months of 2021.