An estimated P11 million (US$217,251.87) worth of smuggled agricultural products were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Cebu City last October.
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña who showed the five containers which contained the smuggled goods to media on Tuesday, said the persons involved violated sections 117 of Republic Act 10863 or Misdeclaration, Misclassification, Undervaluation in Goods Declaration.
Lapeña said that the consignee declared the goods as apples but there were carrots and potatoes in the cargo.
“They misdeclared it as apples so that they can escape from duties and taxes that are supposed to go with it,” Lapeña said.
Under the law, Lapeña said that apples have zero tariffs while other agricultural products such as potatoes and carrots have taxes.
Wivina Pumatong, BOC-Cebu’s officer-in-charge (OIC), said that the containers came from China. She said that they were alerted about the containers when it arrived in Cebu last week of October.
Source: cebudailynews.inquirer.net
