Customs agents assigned at the North Harbor intercepted a smuggled shipment of cigarettes worth P45 million from China.
The importer declared the goods as 711 cartons of bicycle and folding table but agents of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service discovered the shipment contained cigarettes.
“We found the cigarettes concealed in the bikes and tables,” said Manila International Container Port – CIIS chief Alvin Enciso.
Enciso said importers of the smuggled cigarettes will be held liable for misdeclaration and misclassification of goods under Section 1400 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
“There are appropriate charges for a case like this and we will make sure that whoever’s responsible will be held accountable,” he said.
Prior to the apprehension, the MICP-CIIS office received information that the shipment of JDR General Merchandise that arrived on March 15 from Shenzhen, China contained cigarettes and other misdeclared and undeclared items.
Enciso immediately asked for the issuance of a Pre-Lodgment Control Order (PLCO) from MICP District Collector Romeo Allan Rosales “so we can conduct a thorough 100% examination and check the veracity of this information.”
Upon inspection on Monday, the CIIS men found several cartons of smuggled cigarettes such as Fortune Menthol 100s.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means on Monday reiterated his recommendation to the Bureau of Internal Revenue to reverse Revenue Regulation 9-2015 and employ a combination of material and virtual security features in labelling cigarette products.
“We will see changes in the rules to make it more difficult for cigarette companies, legitimate or otherwise, to abuse the camouflage of exportation to have untaxed cigarettes enter our country,” said Albay Rep. Joey Salceda.