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On April 14, 2014, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced that it was intensifying its drive against smuggled and substandard steel with the filing of charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the owners and customs brokers of two firms that attempted to illegally import steel products worth close to P31 million. Two smuggling-related cases were filed against one of the Philippines’ largest importers of steel and iron products, and the firm’s customs brokers.
The first case alleged misdescription, undervaluation and incorrect weights in an effort to save on duties and taxes as well as avoid the payment of the additional Safeguard Duty for imported steel angle bars of P3,706.03 per metric yon (MT), as mandated under Republic Act (RA) 8800 (Safeguard Measures Act of 2000). The second case concerns its shipment of 12 20-foot containers from China declared as “steel sheets, clamps, flexible tubing and hinges” but instead contained “cold rolled steel sheets,” which is used extensively in automobiles; household appliances like refrigerators, stoves, ovens and washing machines; as well as steel office equipment. A further check on the import documents showed that the importer also misdeclared the weight and value to avoid paying higher duties and taxes. Other cases have also been filed recently. Verification with the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS) revealed that above importers did not apply for nor obtain the required Import Commodity Clearance (ICC); which means that the steel products it imported never went through product testing and certification to ensure that these meet safety and product quality standards. In a recent Senate hearing, the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute revealed that 450,000 metric tons out of two million metric tons of imported steel were substandard, and were brought into the country either through technical smuggling or misdeclaration or direct smuggling. A report from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery further revealed that that many of the structures that were destroyed during the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda were made of sub-standard steel, which is usually sold way below prevailing prices of local steel manufacturers. |
