|
CLARK
ECOZONE—The Bureau of Customs has increased to over P17
million the values of about 3,000 shipments last year
when it upgraded its valuation database system.
The
move, according to Customs Commissioner Napoleon
Morales, was intended to correct the valuation
discrepancies of the 3,000 shipments and, at the same
time, improve government’s collection.
 The
shift from the benchmarking system to the valuation
database has been criticized for having compromised the
bureau's collection, which fell short of its
P228-billion target last year.
The
benchmarking entails the payment of uniform fees ranging
from P150,000 to P200,000 for container vans entering
the country's ports.
“I opted
for the valuation database system in the interest of the
government to generate collections fairly,” Morales
said.
In 2007
the customs valuation team under deputy Commissioner
Reynaldo Nicolas, has constantly updated the bureau’s
valuation reference and information system (VRIS).
VRIS is
the main database of test values used for computing
duties and taxes of imported goods to prevent under
declaration.
“We
updated the valuation database publishing 9,650 test
values based on international prevailing prices of
commodities,” Morales said. “From oil importations
alone, the bureau collected an additional P3.9 billion
through a combination of value verification using the
industry-accepted PLATTS Report on oil and strict
monitoring of the volume being discharged from vessel to
vessel.”
Had it
not been for the said valuation system, the P3.9-billion
additional collection could have been foregone revenues,
according to Morales. |
