The government plans to implement the fuel marking system in the first quarter of 2017 to eliminate illicit trade of petroleum products, according to the Bureau of Customs.
Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said he recommended the implementation of the fuel marking system to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.
Under the proposal, imported fuel products would carry the markings at a cost of P0.06 per liter to be shouldered by importers.
Faeldon said the agency would conduct a consultation with industry stakeholders this year with an aim to implement the program by the first quarter of 2017.
“Maybe next year. We have to sit down and satisfy every inquiries about it. First quarter [next year], as long as we are done with the consultation with them,” Faeldon told reporters at the sidelines of a Senate hearing on tax reforms.
Faeldon dismissed the pronouncement of an industry group that the implementation of the fuel marking system would be “ineffective.”
“It was never implemented because of their lobbying,” Faeldon said.