-
Senator Raffy Tulfo urged the Bureau of Customs to tighten requirements for consignees and brokers
-
Requiring additional documents for shipments will address smuggling, he said
-
BOC should demand tax and bank certifications for the last 5 years to screen records of the consignee and broker, Tulfo added
A senator urged the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to tighten requirements for consignees and brokers to address smuggling.
Senator Raffy Tulfo said the BOC should demand additional documents from importers/consignees and brokers for accountability.
During the Senate hearing on the proposed budget of the Department of Finance (DOF) on October 2, Tulfo questioned why a consignee hasn’t been arrested and suggested tightening requirements instead.
He proposed that BOC should demand tax and bank certifications for the last five years to scrutinize the records of the consignee and broker.
At present, BOC only demands tax and bank records for the last 12 months, which, the senator said, “is very easy to produce.”
He insisted on the importance of all consignees and brokers personally submitting requirements and other pertinent documents to the BOC.
Tulfo shared a Department of Justice (DOJ) report showing 76 of the 159 agricultural smuggling cases were dismissed due to a lack of evidence since 2016.
During the hearing, the senator named a certain “Locar” as one of the alleged “big-time” smugglers in the country and is now the subject of interest by the BOC.
He, however, lauded the BOC for apprehending illegal shipments of various items worth ₱31.5 billion over the last nine months.
The Bureau Action Team Against Smuggling, under the BOC, filed four smuggling charges before the DOJ on Sept. 29 against suspected rice smugglers in Bulacan and ordered the seizure of 236,571 sacks of smuggled rice.
