Customs tightens safeguards against sugar smuggling

MANILA, Philippines - All importations of pre-mixed sugar concentrates and pre-mix sugar products will no longer be released by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) without a validating certification issued by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said the new directive was issued in the wake of reports that unscrupulous importers had misdeclared their cane or beet sugar importations as pre-mixed sugar products to evade the payment of duties and taxes.

Imported cane and beet sugar, on the other hand, is assigned a tariff rate of 50 percent if covered by a Minimum Access Volume Import Certification (MAVIC) and a much higher 65 percent if imported outside the prescribed quota.

“There is a need to stop the practice of misdeclaring cane or beet sugar as sugar-based food preparations not only to plug a major leak in the BOC’s revenue collection but also to help maintain a balanced and rationalized supply of sugar vis-à-vis demand which is vital to the viability and survival of the local sugar industry,” Alvarez added.

In a Customs Memorandum Order dated March 3, Alvarez made it clear that “import shipments declared as premix commodities/food preparations but found after laboratory analysis to be raw sugar or refined/white sugar shall be recommended for seizure.”

The Customs chief said the SRA had the mandate to monitor and validate the declared classification and quantities of all imported pre-mix commodities, their dates of arrival, countries of origin and the names of their importers and consignees.

The sugar agency also mandated to assist the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the determination of the appropriate classification of sugar and sugar products for purposes of imposing proper import duties and/or assessing value-added or other taxes thereon.