Book importers urged to file case vs RP govt

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine book importers were urged to file cases against the government after the Department of Finance (DOF) said it has no plans of withdrawing a five percent duty on all foreign reading materials. Finance Undersecretary Estela Sales made this point very clear while at the sidelines of a DOF briefing regarding the Philippines’ fiscal performance in Manila. The government has “clear legal basis for the imposition of customs duty on imported books and reading materials under Section 105 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines," Sales said in an interview. The move to subject imported books to a one to five percent duty has been studied for “a long time," she said. After receiving feedback, the government “decided to push ahead" imposing the tax in March and earning “less than P10 million" so far for the government. Besides encouraging to pay the said duty under protest, Sales also said book importers should take the matter up in court. Earlier, Makati Representative Teodoro M. Locsin Jr. sought presidential relief after learning that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) – an attached agency of the DOF – no longer honored the Florence Agreement. Under the agreement, which was endorsed by the Philippines together with 100 or so countries, books were allowed duty-free entry, a move to spread knowledge and information across national borders. - GMANews.TV