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Bureau of Customs filed a total of 127 cases against erring importers and customs brokers while 370 cases on appeal were resolved from 2020 to January 8, 2021
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48 disciplinary administrative cases were filed against erring Customs employees from 2019 to 2020
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For 2020, BOC revoked 973 accreditations, of which 770 were importers and 203 customs brokers
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BOC issued 401 alert orders against suspected shipments in 2020, with a hit rate of 87.63%
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) filed a total of 127 cases against erring importers and customs brokers from 2020 to January 8, 2021 for violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and other pertinent laws.
Of the total, 75 criminal cases were against various importers filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) while 52 administrative cases were filed against customs brokers before the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC), BOC said in a statement.
For the same period, a total of 370 cases on appeal were also resolved by BOC through its Legal Service. These cases consist of abandonment proceedings, seizure and forfeiture cases, determination of probable cause proceedings, and protests.
Moreover, a total of 48 disciplinary administrative cases were also filed against erring Customs employees from 2019 to 2020, 18 of which were transmitted to the Office of the Ombudsman.
For 2020, 11 cases were resolved, 17 are for resolution, and 11 cases are under formal investigation.
BOC has also revoked 973 accreditations, of which 770 were importers and 203 were customs brokers. The figures are higher than the 250 accreditations revoked in 2019 and 206 in 2018, according to the bureau’s annual report for 2020.
BOC said it has inspected 3,745 consignees in 2020 and 444 of whom were found to be non-compliant with the requirement for an existing office, leading to revocation of their accreditation. In addition, 407 customs bonded warehouses were inspected and 60 closed for non-compliance.
In addition, BOC issued 401 alert orders against suspected shipments in 2020 and had a hit rate of 87.63%. Of the total, 340 were positive, 48 were negative, and 13 were pending.
