Fuel marking scheme yields P130B in gov’t tax take

The government’s fuel marking program has yielded P129.2 billion in tax collection on top of an additional P19.9 million in fees after the one-year free coverage lapsed.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Saturday said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) had collected P110.4 billion in import duties and other taxes from September last year to Sept. 10 this year, while the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) take amounted to P18.8 billion from December last year to Sept. 3 this year.

Dominguez said that as of Sept. 10, a total of 12.3 billion liters of oil products nationwide were injected with a chemical marker signifying correct tax payments.

On Sept. 4, the government has started collecting P0.06884 per liter, inclusive of value-added tax, in fuel marking fees. This has so far raised another P19.9 million.

Asked if the fuel marking program had already translated into significant reduction in oil smuggling, Dominguez said he was still awaiting the full report from the BOC and the BIR.

BOC Assistant Commissioner and spokesperson Vincent Philip Maronilla last week said they were already preparing this report.

Fuel marking had been included in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law as a tax administration measure aimed at eliminating oil smuggling and misdeclaration.

Earlier estimates had shown foregone revenues from smuggled and misdeclared oil products reaching more than half of the actual duties and taxes collected in recent years. INQ