The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) has filed charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against owners and customs brokers of two firms that attempted to illegally import steel products worth close to P31 million.
Two more smuggling-related cases were filed against Shine Rapadas Montes, owner and proprietress of Thunder Birds Trading, one of the Philippines’ largest importers of steel and iron products, and the firm’s customs brokers, Jolly Lareza and Arnel Asuncion.
The first case against Thunder Birds pertains to the firm’s importation of eight 20-foot container vans declared as “steel angle frames” but found to contain “steel angle bars” upon 100% examination. Further investigation indicated that Thunder Birds misdescribed the product and misdeclared the weight and value to cheat on duties and taxes as well as avoid the payment of the additional Safeguard Duty for imported steel angle bars of P3,706.03 per metric ton (MT), as mandated under Republic Act (RA) 8800 (Safeguard Measures Act of 2000).
The second case against Thunder Birds concerns its shipment of 12 20-footers from China declared as “steel sheets, clamps, flexible tubing and hinges” but instead contained “cold rolled steel sheets,” used extensively in automobiles; household appliances like refrigerators, stoves, ovens and washing machines; as well as steel office equipment. A further check on the import documents showed the firm also misdeclared the weight and value to avoid paying higher duties and taxes.
Montes, Lareza and Asuncion face charges of violating Sections 3601 and 3602 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines for the unlawful importation and fraudulent filing of import documents, Section 6 of Republic Act (RA) 4109 (Bureau of Product Standards Law), for the attempt of an unlicensed ICC-holder to import steel angle bars that did not go through PS certification and Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code for using falsified documents.
The BOC also filed smuggling-related charges against officials of Skylink Import-Export, Inc., led by its president, Junnhel Atun; corporate secretary Donna Donita Mercado; treasurer Jumean Rose Atun; directors Limuelle Montesa and Rogelio Ocampo; as well as customs broker Jarie Mae Juquiana for violating Sections 3601 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, Section 6 of Republic Act 4109 and Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code.
The case against Skylink pertains to the importation of eight 20-footers declared as “Hardware Items (Steel Frame Bar)” but contained “steel angle bars”. The misdeclaration was made to avoid paying the Safeguard Duty of P3,706.03 MT on imports of angle bars. Furthermore, Skylink’s import documents grossly misdeclared the weight and value of the goods.
Verification with the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standards also revealed that Thunder Birds and Skylink did not apply for nor obtain the required Import Commodity Clearance; which means the steel products imported never went through product testing and certification to ensure that these meet safety and product quality standards.
In a recent Senate hearing, the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute revealed that 450,000 metric tons out of two million metric tons of imported steel were substandard, and were brought into the country either through technical smuggling or misdeclaration or direct smuggling. — Bureau of Customs
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