Telecom equipment firm, textile importer charged with smuggling

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs yesterday filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) separate smuggling complaints against a telecommunications equipment provider and a fabric importer.

The agency filed charges against Darren Abcede, general manager of Interlite Corp., for grossly undervaluing imports of optical fiber cables.

Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said Interlite is a major supplier of several telecom and data backbone projects in the country.

Data gathered by the agency showed that between March and July this year, Interlite imported a total of 59,000 kilos of optical fiber cables valued at $1 to $2.35 per kilo, with a total dutiable value of P4.93 million.

But the agency’s investigation showed the cables were really valued $9.46 per kilo or a total of P26.89 million.

As such, Alvarez said Interlite should have paid value-added taxes amounting to P3.24 million instead of only P603,979 for the shipment.

“For trying to save P2.64 million, Interlite now stands to lose the more than P26 million they spent on their optical fiber cable importations,” Alvarez said.

The BOC also filed a complaint against Juliana Oriel Octavio, owner of Adventure Trading, which imports fabrics.

The agency said in its charge sheet that Octavio evaded payment of 10 percent duty on nearly 600 packages of fabrics she imported from Thailand last November by using fake duty-free forms.

“The use of fake transaction form by smuggling syndicates deprive the government of much-needed revenues since the China-ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Goods has effectively eliminated tariffs on 90 percent of the products being produced and sold in the expanded free trade area,” Alvarez said.