THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) vowed on Monday to remit all excess balance of its trust accounts to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) after this was flagged by state auditors.
This, after the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the bureau’s non-remittance of P1.058 billion in trust receipts and unspent allocations, “depriving the government of much-needed funds to finance government programs and projects.”
Of the amount, P1.044 billion were trust receipts or collections while unexpended allocations amounted to P14.623 million as of end-2020.
“In response to audit findings of unremitted trust receipts and unspent funds, the BOC-Accounting Division explained that non-remittance of Trust Funds are allowed under applicable laws, rules and regulations of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Special Provisions of BOC General Appropriations Act FY 2020, Republic Act 10863 or Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and position of Bureau of Treasury in the maintenance of MICP (Manila International Container Port) Collection of Trust Accounts,” it said.
The BOC said its Accounting Division also clarified with the COA last March that only the Collections of Trust Liabilities-Informers’ Reward is to be directly remitted to the account of the BTr. And for the remaining Trust Accounts, all idle/excess balances from prior years shall be determined and remitted to the Treasury.
“The BOC gave its assurance that it will adhere to the recommendation to remit all excess balance of Trust Accounts. To this effect, the Accounting Division has coordinated with all collection districts in identifying all active Trust Accounts and remit/deposit remaining dormant accounts,” it said.
Despite standing by the legality of non-remittance of trust funds, Customs Assistant Commissioner and Spokesman Vincent Philip Maronilla told the BusinessMirror they will comply with the recommendation of COA.
“If that’s the recommendation of COA, then we will look into it and we’re going to revert to Bureau of Treasury [if the] COA [thinks] it is more prudent; but there’s nothing illegal about it,” Maronilla, a lawyer, said.
Likewise, the BOC responded to COA’s finding that it processed and released 246 regulated commodities worth P394.009 million despite the lack of import permits and other supporting documents.
The bureau said “the commodities are not subject to government regulatory requirements and were filed under a provisional goods declaration, which allows the online submission of certain commodity requirements within 45 days of filing.”
Moreover, the BOC also clarified that the P394.009-million worth of goods processed and released at the Manila International Container Port and Port of Manila were duly assessed with correct duties and taxes including excises properly collected.
It added all vehicle importers mentioned in the COA report are accredited under the Super Green Lane and members of associations of motor vehicles manufacturers and importers such as the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors and the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines. The SGL accreditation allows the importers to cause the release of shipments upon payment of assessed duties and taxes.