`Aduana' seizes 393 luxury vans in one-month operation

Beware of Starex vans.

Anti-smuggling chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim issued this warning yesterday as he reported that within just a month, his Task Force Aduana had intercepted 356 units of Hyundai Starex vans, considered one of the hottest selling vans in the country today.

At a press conference, Calimlim said his task force believes that a well-entrenched syndicate could be behind the proliferation of Starex vans in the country.

"We have noted that there is an ongoing scam regarding the importation of these Starex vans. Since January 1999, more than 10,000 units of these vans have entered the country," he said.

Imported from South Korea, Starex vans are being sold at P850,000 each but Calimlim said their importers have misdeclared their value to avoid paying Customs duties.

"They (vans) were found to be misdeclared, misclassified and undervalued and there was non-payment of ad valorem tax," he said.

Aside from the Starex vans, Task Force Aduana also seized 37 Toyota Land Cruisers worth about P2.5 million each.

Calimlim noted that the smuggling of the Starex vans and the Land Cruisers has deprived the government of some P2.5 billion in revenues.

"This amount, if properly collected by the government, could have been a big boost to our economy," he said.

The seized vehicles are now impounded at the Armed Forces' Logistics Command warehouse in Quezon City and at the Bureau of Customs compound in Manila.

Calimlim revealed that the documentation of the seized Starex vans were found to be questionable as many of the consignees were discovered to be fictitious or with non-existing addresses.

He cited one case involving a certain Vicky Ang and one Lianne Ong, alleged consignees of Starex vans who listed their address as No. 2 Gilmore corner N. Domingo streets, Quezon City.

When it checked the address, Calimlim's task force found it to be an empty lot which is being used as a car exchange. The lot reportedly had dozens of Starex vans for sale.

Aside from having fictitious consignees, the seized vans were also found to have been undervalued by as much as $5,000. A Customs memorandum dated Dec. 24, 1999 noted that the correct value of each van should be at least $11,000.

Calimlim added that the nine-seater variant of the Starex vans, which is the most in demand among local buyers, were declared as 10-seater, thus exempting them from the required ad valorem tax.

"The importers paid only 30 percent for them instead of the 50 percent required in our laws," he said.

The same case was true for the Land Cruisers which Task Force Aduana intercepted last Wednesday.

"The task force now believes that this scam is syndicated and organized. We have information that the brokers, importers and some of the consignees themselves are in cahoots with some unscrupulous Customs, BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and LTO (Land Transportation Office) officials," Calimlim said.

"As soon as we get enough evidence against these people, we will start filing appropriate criminal charges against them," he added.

Meanwhile, Calimlim also announced the interception of a 40-foot container van whose contents were declared as used clothing from the United States to be donated to the Missionaries of the Poor in Naga City in Camarines Sur.

Upon inspection, however, the container van, which was intercepted late December, was found to be containing brand-new clothing with tag prices ranging from $8 to $50.

Aside from this, he said his task force seized two container vans containing parts of two buses and 10 units of mountain bikes. The contents were misdeclared as used car parts.