Agents of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) served a Letter of Authority (LOA) in warehouses in Meycauayan, Bulacan, reportedly storing imported goods without payment of correct duties and taxes.

Pursuant to the LOA, the CIIS-MICP agents with the Enforcement and Security Service-MICP operatives, representatives from the Bureau’s Action Team Against Smugglers, the Philippine Coast Guard—Task Force Aduana, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, with further support from the Bulacan Police Provincial Office and barangay officials in the area, proceeded to inspect the subject warehouses.

During the operation, they found in the subject warehouses a volume of stored imported cigarettes amounting to P500 Million and P5 Billion worth of IPR-infringing items (gadgets, devices, and garments, among others) with an aggregate estimated value of PhP5.500 Billion.

Following the discovery of the subject imported goods, the agents temporarily secured the entrance and exit gates of the warehouses with padlocks and seals, while affording the warehouse owners/operators a period of fifteen (15) days from service of the LOA to submit documents to show that the subject imported goods were legitimately imported and that the correct duties and taxes due thereon were duly paid pursuant to Section 224 of Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

The BOC, under the leadership of Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio, remains committed in protecting the country’s borders and upholding the law by preventing the entry and distribution of illicit and counterfeit goods.

###