THE Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Subic seized an estimated P38.1-million worth of misdeclared and fake cigarettes.
The shipment, which came from China, was declared as assorted textile. Authorities, however, discovered the shipment actually contained several boxes of cigarettes with the “Fortune” brand and “Mighty” brand along with some brand new clothes.
Prior to the filing of goods declaration, the port already issued a pre-lodgment control order against the shipment as Customs already suspected the shipment to contain counterfeit goods.
Customs then issued a warrant of seizure and detention for violation of National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Memorandum Circular 03, series of 2004 and NTA Board resolution 079-2005. The Customs also cited Section 155 of Republic Act (RA) 8293 (Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines), in relation to Section 1113 (f) of RA 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act or CMTA).
The BoC quoted Port of Subic District Collector Maritess T. Martin as saying the seizure was “the result of the Port’s relentless efforts to secure the national borders against illicit trade and other customs fraud.”
“To date, the said shipment has already been forfeited in favor of the government and will now be subjected to disposal,” a statement issued by the BoC said.
In 2020, Customs seized P10.629-billion worth of smuggled goods, with cigarettes accounting for more than half of its total haul.
In terms of the estimated value of smuggled goods that the BOC seized from January to December last year, cigarettes comprised 54 percent or P5.77 billion, followed by illegal drugs (P1.855 billion) and counterfeit goods (P1.056 billion).
Read full article on BusinessMirror