Southern Cross Cement owes gov’t P53-M in taxes, says BOC

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said yesterday Southern Cross Cement Corp. (SCCC) owed the government more than P53 million in unpaid taxes as a result of its importation of gray Portland cement which are subject to safeguard tariffs.

According to BOC documents, SCCC owes the government more than P53 million in the form of cash bonds, value added tax and duties for 2.315 million bags of cement it had imported when the imposition of the safeguard tariff was still being questioned.

SCCC has been trying to question the BOC assessment and had written the Department of Finance (DoF) about the matter.

SCCC, thus, asked the BOC to defer calling on SCCC’s stand-by domestic Letters of Credits and cash bonds which it has posted for the release of the cement imports while the DoF studied SCCC’s petition.

But, in an Oct. 21 "First Endorsement" letter from Customs Commissioner Antonio M. Bernardo, it was clarified that the referral to the DoF is merely for "information/instruction" and "should not be interpreted to defer the implementation of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) decision imposing safeguard duty on gray Portland cement as ordered in Safeguard Case No. 02-2001, where implementation has been mandated under CMO 17-2003."

Bernardo further clarified that "the endorsement neither modifies/amends CMO 17-2003, which clearly states that it is effective ‘unless otherwise repeated, revoked or suspended by another issuance of a competent authority.’ In the absence, thus, of any such issuance, CMO 17-2003 remains effective."

Bernardo ordered the district collector at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) to implement CMO 17-2003 which provides, among others, that "Pursuant to Rule 13.3 c of the IRR of RA 8800, in case a cash bond has been filed, the same shall be applied to the ‘definitive safeguards duty assessed."