P500-M BOC allotment in 2012 budget to curb petroleum smuggling

An extra P500 million has been allotted to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) under the proposed 2012 budget to curb the “rampant" smuggling of petroleum and other high-value imports, according to party-list Liquefied Petroleum Gas-Marketer's Association (LPG-MA). LPG-MA Rep. Arnel Ty, , a member of the House committee on energy said in a statement over the weekend, the “Petroleum Inventory System Project" would allow the bureau to keep better track of oil imports, which account for over 17 percent of its revenue collection. The P500 million, which is under the proposed P1.816-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2012, will be used to build the Petroleum Inventory System and buy an online X-ray imaging system. The online X-ray system, said Ty, would allow Customs personnel to electronically capture, distribute, and share information from the two pilot sites — Port of Manila and Manila International Container Port. The party list representative also urged the BOC to improve its chemical testing facilities as a measure against the technical smuggling of petroleum, which he said has been hurting government. “The bureau should not have to rely on other parties to perform the initial chemical analysis on samples of imported oil products," he said, noting that some refined petroleum shipments were being declared only as additives or unfinished products in order to avoid import duties and taxes. Last week, an Iligan City-based LPG importer was charged with smuggling before the Justice Department. In the complaint, the BOC alleged that Petronas Energy Philippines had defrauded the Philippine government of over P1 billion in Customs duties. — BC/VS, GMA News