CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Twenty-seven 20-foot shipping containers loaded with more than 10,000 bags of rice imported from Thailand were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Northern Mindanao following the discovery of the misdeclared cargo.
Acting Customs district collector Ruby Claudia Alameda issued the warrant of seizure and detention after a spot check revealed that each container was loaded with 520 bags of rice instead of the declared quantity of 400 rice bags.
Alameda said the shipment came from Thailand and was consigned to the Malingas Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
The concessionaire had declared that the containers had 10,800 bags of Thai white rice.
But after examination by BOC officials and a representative of the consignee, one container van was found to have an excess of 120 bags.
Alameda said the 30 percent excess constitutes a violation of the Tariffs and Customs Code.
She said the shipment arrived at the Mindanao Container Terminal Port in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental last Dec. 20 on board the M/V Sandigan Voy.
“Even though the shipment was covered by an NFA (National Food Authority) import permit we had the right to know what’s inside,†Alameda said.
The seized shipment is now in a government-controlled warehouse pending resolution of the misdeclaration case.
In a related development, Alameda issued a memorandum on Jan. 21 to all port collectors and exporters of mineral ore and lumber/logs to submit their Mineral Ore Permit or Export Authority to the office of the Customs District Collector for verification with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources before filing their Export Entry Declaration.
“I will never be in cahoots with smugglers and I will never allow any illegal shipment to enter the port,†she added.
Meanwhile, the cargo that contained 140,000 bags of Vietnamese rice for NFA Region 1 in a Vietnamese ship that ran aground last Dec. 27 near the pier in San Fernando City in La Union has not yet been unloaded.
Carlito Co, NFA Region 1 director, said they have hired a barge to help in the operations to lighten the load of the Vietnamese ship M/V Vinh Hoa Po that was stuck about 1,200 meters from the pier.
Co said they have already unloaded about 33,000 bags of rice.
He added that they are not yet sure when they could lighten the load to release the ship.
Co said the NFA buffer stock for Region 1 was not affected by the delay of the rice shipment from Vietnam since the cargo is intended for the lean months of July to September.
He added that another ship with 250,000 bags of rice for Region 1 had already docked at the San Fernando pier and is now unloading its cargo.
Importers with no permits
Some of the top rice importers in the country have been operating without the required importation permits even though the firms have been paying duties, according to the NFA.
The Department of Finance and the BOC recently published in full-page advertisements the list of the top 40 rice importers for 2013 and the corresponding taxes they paid to the government for that year.
NFA spokesman Rex Estoperez said payment of duties is not a guarantee that the rice importation is legal.
Estoperez, however, declined to identify the companies importing rice without the proper permits.
“The payment of duties is not a guarantee that rice shipments could enter the country,†he said. “No import permit means the shipment is illegal.â€
The NFA is mandated to issue an import permit to accredited importers. This is meant to regulate the volume of rice entering the country.
Under the Philippines’ commitment to the World Trade Organization, the country allows the entry of 350,000 metric tons of rice under the minimum access value (MAV) at 40 percent duty, while imports outside of MAV are charged a 50 percent duty.
Estoperez said that even for importation outside of MAV, the NFA determines the allowable volume of importation as it issues an import permit. – With Czeriza Velencia, Eva Visperas, Jun Elias