CUSTOMS Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon may have been misled on the alleged undervaluation of the importation of 469 fire trucks consigned to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in 2016.
Kolonwel-Hubei joint-venture company, in a statement, complained that it was “not treated fairly by the previous administration when the importation was not granted the tax exemption to which it was entitled to under the law.” This exemption is reiterated under Joint Circular 1 of the Departments of Budget and Management and Finance dated April 30, 2014.
The joint-venture company had saved the BFP an estimated P6 billion compared to other fire trucks delivered by its competitors.
It suspects that those behind this smear campaign are the losing bidders who had gained from the supply of overpriced fire trucks in the past.
The company paid to facilitate the release and delivery of the fire trucks as required by the circular, which also allows its reimbursement in accordance with the procedures set by the circular.
The amount of taxes and duties paid by the joint-venture company was based on the total value of the unit, which included delivery charges, miscellaneous expenses, commissioning and testing expenses, handling fees, training expenses, sales tax, value-added tax and the delivery costs to end-users.
“This misunderstanding could have been avoided, had the previous officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and BFP under the [former President Benigno S.] Aquino administration applied for the exemption, which they have done for other suppliers in the past,” the company said in the statement.
The company will apply for the reimbursement of the duties and taxes it paid to the Bureau of Customs, through the implementing agency, BFP, under Joint Circular 1.