BOC files smuggling raps vs major palm oil trader

A major importer of palm oil is facing smuggling charges after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) filed on Thursday a complaint against the Caloocan-based company before the Department of Justice. The importer, Trans-Asia Philippine Manufacturing Industry, supposedly declared as low as P6.60 per kilo its shipments of refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palm oil, said Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez. The charge says the company falsely declared its total dutiable value at P532,852,511, which was thus assessed with a value-added tax (VAT) of only P64,824,462. The total importation value should have reached P2.2 billion, requiring the company to pay a VAT of P264,553,516, Alvarez said. The BOC sued the company’s import manager, Jason Uy Sio, and customs brokers Benjamin Valic, Elinda Dumalaog, and Joey Laurente for gross undervaluation and various fraudulent practices. Case records showed that between January 2010 and February this year, Trans-Asia imported 38,694,261 kgs of RBD palm oil with a declared value ranging from P6.60 to P22 per kilo. Customs Deputy Commissioner Gregorio Chavez said the undervaluation, exceeding 75 percent, had few precedents in the bureau’s history. To justify the gross undervaluation, Trans-Asia supposedly submitted falsified and spurious invoices, according to the deputy commissioner. In an interview with GMA News Online, Trans-Asia engineering staff member Robert Uy said the company has not received a copy of the charges, but plans to do a tally of their dutiable value and tax assessment with the BOC. “Baka hindi lang po parehas ang records ng dalawa (Maybe the records of the two just didn’t tally)," Uy said, referring to the BOC records and that of Trans-Asia’s. — With a report by Paterno Esmaquel II/VS, GMA News