Philippines: DoF Turns Focus on Tobacco Importers

Source from:  Business World 12/10/2015

In its latest Tax Watch ad, the Department of Finance (DoF) has called out five tobacco companies for declaring different prices of unmanufactured Virginia tobacco strips with a number of Customs officials assigned to examine their goods.

"Why do importers declare lower prices depending on the customs examiner?", according to the advertisement, published in a newspaper yesterday, while noting that "similar goods imported from the same country must also be similarly priced."

The agency pointed out the varying rates declared by the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) in its imports from India via the GreenLane -- an express lane that allows shipments to go through without examination -- where it declared values ranging from $0.77 to $4.39 against the $1.99 of Philip Morris Phils. Manufacturing in the same GreenLane, and the uniform $3.32 declared by the producer Associated Anglo American Tobacco (AAAT) across three examiner desks.

Examiners are tasked to check valuation and other documentary requirements before releasing any cargo to ensure proper tax declarations.

Four firms importing from Brazil likewise declared varying costs for their goods, with Mighty Corp. valuations across six examiners ranging from $0.55 to $5.70, AAAT over four customs desks at $4.46-$6.16, values of $4.37-$7.84 from PMFTC through the GreenLane, and La Suerte Cigar & Cigarette Factory with a fixed $0.36 declaration in the GreenLane against rates declared to wa separate examiner at $4.98-$5.40.

PMFTC and Mighty Corp. were likewise seen giving varying valuations for Chinese imports, ranging from $0.80-$5.54 and $0.69-$3.95, respectively; against the declarations on similar products from La Suerte of $3.11 and Universal Leaf Philippines, Inc. of $3.57.

Mighty Corp. gave two different prices for US tobacco strips of $5.50 and $9.25 against Universal Leaf's $1.89, but gave three sets of prices to Zimbabwe officials of $2.16, $4.88, and $7.65. Enditem