THE government has so far collected P236.49 billion in duties and taxes from its fuel- marking program since it started in September 2019.
The Bureau of Customs collected the bulk or P208.517 billion of the total while P27.97 billion came from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, based on an infographic shared by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III with reporters.
During the reporting period, P24.34 billion liters of fuel was marked by the government.
Most of the fuel marked was diesel, cornering 60.74 percent or 14.79 billion liters, followed by gasoline with 38.73 percent or 9.43 billion liters; and kerosene with 0.53 percent or 131.63 million liters.
Taking the lion’s share of fuel marked was Luzon with 73.3 percent or 17.85 billion liters. Next to Luzon is Mindanao with 21.4 percent or 5.2 billion liters, and Visayas with 5.3 percent or 1.29 billion liters.
Twenty-four companies participated in the government’s fuel- marking program.
Leading the list was Petron with a 22.35-percent share in the total volume of marked fuel or 5.4 billion liters.
Trailing Petron is Shell with 19.54 percent or 4.76 billion liters, followed by Unioil with 10.39 percent or 2.53 billion liters, Seaoil with 8.09 percent or 1.97 billion liters and Insular Oil with 7.92 percent or 1.93 billion liters.
In February, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Albay Rep. Joey Salceda revealed that government lost P357 billion due to fuel smuggling from 2010 to 2019.
While fuel marking helped lower smuggling, foregone revenues are still rising, Salceda said, because the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law raised taxes on fuel products in 2018.
Fuel marking makes use of a unique chemical marker that can be embedded at a molecular level in petroleum products—gasoline, diesel and kerosene—thereby enabling authorities to test, identify and distinguish petroleum products with paid excise taxes.
Under TRAIN, petroleum products that are refined, manufactured or imported to the Philippines such as, but not limited to, unleaded premium gasoline, kerosene, and diesel, shall be marked by an official marking agent after payment of taxes and duties.
The fuel-marking program was launched with the aim of halting illegal importation, manufacturing and other fraudulent activities relating to the use and sale of petroleum products in the country.
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