The Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently seized 200 containers of Thai white rice estimated to be worth P250 million at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) for lacking the necessary permit to import.
Importer Sta. Rosa Farm Products Corp. filed an import entry for 150 of these containers, which arrived at MICP on various dates, BOC said in a statement.
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said, “Since my assumption, this is the biggest rice smuggling intercepted by the Bureau of Customs.”
Lapeña said that upon checking the entry, it was found that the shipments were not covered by an import permit from the National Food Authority (NFA).
NFA Letter Circular No. AO-2013-04-002 states that importers of rice are required to secure an NFA permit before the shipment arrives in the Philippines. The absence of the permit is ground for forfeiture of the shipment and its seizure by BOC and NFA.
“The duties and taxes of the 150 containers were assessed at P31,428,699; however, because of the lack of permit and the failure of the consignee to pay the duties and taxes within 15 days from the date of final assessment, the shipment is subject to seizure,” Lapeña noted.
MICP district collector Atty. Vener Baquiran issued a warrant of seizure and detention (WSD) on June 13 for the apprehension of the 150 containers.
BOC said it will be charging the importer with violation of Section 1113 of the Customs and Modernization and Tariff Act, in relation to NFA Letter Circular No. AO-2013-04-002. The importer will also be charged with violating Republic Act No. 10845, which penalizes agricultural smugglers with life imprisonment, and imposes a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural products and the aggregate amount of the taxes/duties/charges avoided.
On the other hand, as of June 14, no entry has been filed for the remaining 50 containers, which are to be the subject of abandonment proceedings if no entry will be filed within the prescribed period, BOC said.
The customs chief has a standing directive to examine all agricultural products arriving in the country, as requested by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
READ: BOC asked to issue alert orders on all agri shipments
The request stemmed from the seizure of red and yellow onions concealed in several containers that were declared to contain other products. To prevent this from happening again, Lapeña ordered all district collectors to subject all agricultural products under alert orders, which in turn requires the alerted shipments to be examined.
The customs chief noted that agricultural smuggling does not only put local producers at a disadvantage, but also puts at risk the health of Filipino consumers since smuggled agricultural products do not undergo quarantine and food safety inspection to determine their fitness for human consumption.
