UCPB to back Customs in buying seized goods

State-run United Coconut Planters Bank is willing to finance the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should the agency decide to buy seized smuggled goods, the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) said over the weekend. At present, the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) is planning to buy smuggled goods seized by the bureau. The plan was actually hatched by the bureau with UCPB three years ago, a UCPB official told GMANews.TV. According to the BOC's plan, state-owned PITC will buy the seized goods in warehouses and sell these to the private sector. The move is part of the Aquino administration’s broader approach to curb smuggling, which, according to BOC Commissioner Angelito Alvarez, translates to P40 billion in lost revenues each year. As part of the move, the PITC would also tap its credit line from Land Bank of the Philippines to buy the goods the BOC had seized. The FPI had earlier said that the BOC must implement "forced acquisition" to shore up revenues and curb smuggling. Alvarez said that importers who undervalue their shipments would have no choice but to mend their ways and start declaring the right value of their imports. Under Sec. 2317 of the Tariffs and Customs Code, the BOC may buy seized smuggled goods and sell the items to private buyers at the correct value. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV