Govrnment collects P147 billion from fuel marking

MANILA, Philippines — Revenues collected by the government from oil duties and taxes have reached nearly P150 billion since the implementation of the fuel marking program, data from the Department of Finance (DOF) showed.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the volume of fuel products infused with markers from Sept. 4, 2019, the start of the fuel marking program, until Oct. 29, 2020 has reached 14.63 billion liters.

Total revenue collections reached P147.47 billion, P127.59 billion of which was generated by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and P19.88 billion by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

DOF data also showed that 2.58 billion liters of the total volume were marked since  Sept. 4, which marked the second year of implementation of the program, until Oct. 29. This translated to P20.92 billion in total revenues.

Under the fuel marking program, petroleum products for domestic consumption with proof of payment of taxes are injected with markers.

The DOF said the program seeks to curb oil smuggling and misdeclaration of petroleum products.

In a text message to reporters, Dominguez said the program was able to achieve this goal, judging from the amount of revenues generated.

“The increase in revenue collection from fuel importation is the best indicator of the program’s success. Smuggling means those bringing in fuel are not paying taxes for them. Increase in collection from fuel importation would, of course, mean that those importing fuel are now declaring them and paying taxes,” he said.

Before the rollout of the fuel marking program, the DOF estimated that the government lost as much as P40 billion annually due to oil smuggling.

Meanwhile, DOF data showed that diesel accounted for 9.04 billion liters of the total fuel marked as of end-October. This was followed by gasoline with 5.52 billion liters and kerosene with 76.15 million liters.

Among the 20 participating companies, Petron Corp. had the largest share of marked fuel with a total volume of 3.31 billion liters, followed by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc., with 2.94 billion and 1.53 billion liters, respectively.

Chevron Philippines Inc. accounted for 1.25 billion liters of the total volume of marked fuel, while Seaoil Philippines Inc. recorded 1.24 billion liters.

Initially, the cost of the fuel markers was shouldered by the government during the first year of the program’s implementation. But beginning Sept. 4, oil companies were required to pay fuel marking fees amounting to P0.06884 per liter, inclusive of value-added tax.