Customs seizes P20.58 billion smuggled, fake goods in 2019

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has confiscated P20.58 billion worth of smuggled goods last year amid its crackdown on illegal traders and counterfeiters, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

Citing a report made by the BOC to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, the DOF said the bulk of the confiscated goods last year came in the form of counterfeit products which had an estimated value of P9.44 billion.

Another P3.59 billion worth of seized items were illegal drugs, while P2.67 billion came in the form of cigarettes and tobacco products.

Together, these three accounted for P15.7 billion or three-fourths of the total haul for 2019, according to the DOF.

Other seized products included agricultural goods (P398.47 million), general merchandise (P59.87 million), vehicles and accessories (P106.55 million), used clothing (P66.86 million), steel products (P78.59 million), electronics (P21 million), goods and firearms (P815,000), currency (P35 million), and other products (P4.1 billion). 

As part of its law enforcement efforts, the DOF said the customs bureau also filed criminal cases against 345 importers and 75 customs brokers in 2019.

The BOC also revoked the customs accreditation of 196 importers and customs brokers due to various violations of customs rules and regulations.

In addition, the BOC issued a total of 147 show-cause orders against erring customs personnel last year. About 152 employees were also administratively charged, while 20 were dismissed and eight suspended.

According to preliminary data, the BOC generated P630.57 billion in revenues in 2019, 6.32 percent higher than the P593.11 billion recorded in 2018.

This also accounts for 95.4 percent of the agency’s goal of P661.04 billion for the whole of 2019.

“The collection in 2019, apart from the efforts of our collection districts, is also attributed to revenue collection from issued alert orders amounting to more than P40.9 million, post clearance audits with more than P2 billion collected revenue, and more than P527.9 billion from public auctions,” the BOC said.

 Meanwhile, the DOF said the BOC was able to further facilitate trade by joining the ASEAN Single Window, which enables the country to exchange electronic Certificates of Origin with other countries in the region.

The BOC also launched the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program, which seeks to provide the bureau and its stakeholders with increased security, while ensuring the seamless movement of goods. 

The bureau also reduced yard utilization to 71.2 percent in the Port of Manila (POM) and 72.66 percent in the Manila International Container Port according to the DOF.