The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Cagayan de Oro seized a vessel and its cargo for allegedly using a falsified special permit to operate in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said Villa Shipping Lines Inc., the owner of M/V Jake Vincent Seis, used the 26-year-old Japanese-built ship to avail of the BIMP-EAGA privilege of not paying duties and taxes.
“The vessel’s operation is limited within the country’s domestic bounds. However, it sailed within the BIMP-EAGA area using a fake permit which is a ‘modus operandi’ employed by some shipping lines,” the customs chief said in a statement.
The vessel was reportedly carrying 1,450 metric tons of dried coconut copra from Indonesia for delivery to Davao Bay Coconut Oil Mills Inc. in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental when a BOC and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) team boarded the ship on August 28.
After searching the ship, the agents reportedly found a dubious BIMP-EAGA special permit that was being used to legitimize their activities.
“Customs then coordinated with the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) who validated that the vessel’s special permit to operate in the BIMP-EAGA was fake. We asked them to present the proof of payment of the duties and taxes for the cargoes but the 19 Filipino crew could not give us any, which led to the seizure of the vessel and the cargo,” Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Intelligence Officer II Alvin Y. Enciso said.
Port of Cagayan de Oro district collector Jamail Marohomsalic explained, “If the vessel is plying within the BIMP-EAGA route, the ship is covered by the Free Trade Agreement that would allow the vessel to deliver and pick up cargo within the four member countries—Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. If it was imported for this purpose it would have been spared from paying the duties and taxes.”
“But if the ship was converted to travel only within domestic waters, they would have to get clearance from government agencies such as the MARINA and the BOC,” Mahoromsalic added.
Marohomsalic issued a warrant of seizure and detention upon the joint recommendation of Ozamiz sub-port collector Ma. Chona Sarte, CIIS, and the Enforcement and Security Service personnel.
BIMP-EAGA was created to accelerate social and economic development in less developed areas in Southeast Asia by harnessing private sector initiatives to promote cross-border investment, trade and tourism, as well as to improve connectivity.
