Customs seizes P40 million worth of misdeclared goods

MANILA, Philippines - An estimated P40 million worth of brand new pieces of appliances which were allegedly misdeclared as hardware tools were confiscated by elements of the Bureau of Customs.

In a statement, BOC Commissioner Napoleon Morales led the inspection of four container vans that arrived at the Manila International Container Port (MICP). One container was filled with 170 packages of hardware materials while the three 40 footer container vans were said to have 6,875 hardware tools.

The four shipments, that came from China, were reportedly consigned to X-mart Corp. and were subjected to a 100 percent examination.

Morales immediately ordered an investigation to determine if criminal charges can be filed against the consignee.

An internal probe would also be done to check if there were Customs personnel involved in the attempted smuggling of appliances to the country.

BOC Deputy Commissioner Horacio Suansing Jr. said that, “misdeclaration is outright smuggling.”

“These are brand new home and commercial appliances and they would be recommended to be auctioned off.”

Morales also said that their vigilance in the last few months bore fruit as indicated by their accomplishment.

They have surpassed their five-month target by over P6 billion.

Partial figures for June show that the bureau is on track to surpass its mid-year target of P124.056 billion.