BOC cracks down on smuggling

To help combat persistent smuggling, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) filed in the first quarter of this year 30 cases against suspected smugglers and unscrupulous customs brokers.

In a statement on Friday, the BOC said its revenue collection monitoring group and legal service lodged 24 criminal charges before the Department of Justice from January to March, under the bureau’s action team against smugglers (Batas) program.

These criminal cases involved “73 individuals composed of importers, exporters, and customs brokers for violations of the Republic Act No. 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, and other pertinent laws,” the country’s second-biggest revenue agency said.

The BOC also filed before the Professional Regulation Commission six administrative cases versus erring licensed customs brokers.

“Data from Batas show that the cases involved the unlawful importation of cigarettes valued at P160.4 million, agricultural products valued at P131.4 million, motor vehicles valued at P49.4 million, general merchandise amounting to P7.7 million, and other commodities valued at P7.2 million,” the BOC said.

“The BOC remains committed to continuing the fight against smuggling by filing the appropriate cases against unscrupulous individuals,” it added.

The 30 criminal and administrative cases filed by the BOC as of end-March of this year brought to 450 the total number of antismuggling cases initiated by the agency from mid-2016, or at the start of the Duterte administration, up to present, a separate report on the BOC’s website showed.