Customs seizes vessel operating under supposedly fake permits

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Wednesday said it has seized a cargo vessel for operating under supposedly falsified special permits.

According to the BOC, the seized vessel was carrying cargo with duties and taxes estimated at P35 billion.

The vessel allegedly falsified a special permit to operate in the BIMP-EAGA zone or the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area.

The owner of the vessel was identified by Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña as Villa Shipping Lines Inc., and was said to have used the identity of M/V Jake Vincent Seis to avail of the BIMP-EAGA privileges of not having to pay duties and taxes.

Seized on September 8, the vessel was reportedly carrying 1,450 metric tons of dried coconut copra from Indonesia to be delivered to the Davao Bay Coconut Oil Mills Inc. in Misamis Oriental.

“Customs then coordinated with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) who validated that the vessel’s special permit to operate in the BIMP-EAGA was fake," Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Intelligence Officer II Alvin Y. Enciso said.

"We asked them to present the proof of payment of the duties and taxes for the cargoes but the 19 Filipino crew could not give us any which led to the seizure of the vessel and the cargo,” he added. — MDM/KVD, GMA News