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| Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said the suspension would be the “next step” he would take when asked about the agency’s actions against cigarette smuggling. Philstar / Efigenio Toledo IV | By Iris Gonzales |
MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is set to suspend the import accreditation of Mighty Corp., a Bulacan-based cigarette company owned and operated by Filipino-Chinese businessmen Ceasar and Alex Wongchuking.
Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said the suspension would be the “next step” he would take when asked about the agency’s actions against cigarette smuggling.
President Duterte said he is bent on eradicating illicit cigarette trade.
“I’ll be ordering that (suspension),” Faeldon told The STAR on the sidelines of a recent meeting with officials from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime regarding illicit trade and border security.
Faeldon has identified cigarettes as among the top three smuggled items in the country, along with crude oil and luxury vehicles, which altogether has resulted in P50 billion in lost revenues for the government.
As such, Faeldon said he would be acting on the BOC’s earlier findings on Mighty’s alleged import violations, which his predecessors were not able to act upon due to time constraints.
The BOC, under then Customs commissioner John Sevilla, had recommended the suspension of Mighty’s import accreditation for alleged misdeclaration.
Sevilla, however, resigned before the BOC could act on his recommendation.
BOC data showed that from 2011 to 2013, Mighty used its customs bonded warehouse – supposedly for manufacturing and exportation of finished goods – largely for domestic use.
Data also showed that during the period, Mighty declared prices of their imports of acetate tow – a raw material used for cigarettes – at $0.36 per kilo, below the actual price of their suppliers of $5 to $6 per kilo.
Sought for comment, Mighty spokesman Oscar Barrientos said their suppliers’ prices of acetate tow imports were immaterial because the company used transaction value.
“We used transaction value (method) because we re-exported the products,” he said.
Transaction value method is based on customs value of an imported good computed on the basis of the price payable at the time it was exported.
However, BOC data showed Mighty’s exports did not match their imports.
In 2011 alone, Mighty purchased 2.05 kilos of acetate tow or equivalent to 13.7 billion cigarette sticks but only exported 2.218 billion sticks, translating to a discrepancy of 11.49 billion sticks.
Mighty paid some P325 million in duties and taxes to the BOC for the imports made from 2011 to 2013 but according to BOC data, payment should have been P1.4 billion or a deficiency of P1.08 billion.
Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said the suspension would be the “next step” he would take when asked about the agency’s actions against cigarette smuggling.
President Duterte said he is bent on eradicating illicit cigarette trade.
“I’ll be ordering that (suspension),” Faeldon told The STAR on the sidelines of a recent meeting with officials from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime regarding illicit trade and border security.
Faeldon has identified cigarettes as among the top three smuggled items in the country, along with crude oil and luxury vehicles, which altogether has resulted in P50 billion in lost revenues for the government.
As such, Faeldon said he would be acting on the BOC’s earlier findings on Mighty’s alleged import violations, which his predecessors were not able to act upon due to time constraints.
The BOC, under then Customs commissioner John Sevilla, had recommended the suspension of Mighty’s import accreditation for alleged misdeclaration.
Sevilla, however, resigned before the BOC could act on his recommendation.
BOC data showed that from 2011 to 2013, Mighty used its customs bonded warehouse – supposedly for manufacturing and exportation of finished goods – largely for domestic use.
Data also showed that during the period, Mighty declared prices of their imports of acetate tow – a raw material used for cigarettes – at $0.36 per kilo, below the actual price of their suppliers of $5 to $6 per kilo.
Sought for comment, Mighty spokesman Oscar Barrientos said their suppliers’ prices of acetate tow imports were immaterial because the company used transaction value.
“We used transaction value (method) because we re-exported the products,” he said.
Transaction value method is based on customs value of an imported good computed on the basis of the price payable at the time it was exported.
However, BOC data showed Mighty’s exports did not match their imports.
In 2011 alone, Mighty purchased 2.05 kilos of acetate tow or equivalent to 13.7 billion cigarette sticks but only exported 2.218 billion sticks, translating to a discrepancy of 11.49 billion sticks.
Mighty paid some P325 million in duties and taxes to the BOC for the imports made from 2011 to 2013 but according to BOC data, payment should have been P1.4 billion or a deficiency of P1.08 billion.
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