Some P20 million worth of black corals, a protected species that cannot be legally harvested, were seized today on orders of Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez.

The Bureau of Customs filed today the 6th technical smuggling case it has built against oil industry players in a span of just 15 months.

The Republic of the Philippines recently inked the Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters with The Kingdom of the Netherlands at the Bureau of Customs, Port of Manila.

Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon today ordered the seizure of 100 million-peso worth of high-end laptop computers at the Port of Manila (POM).

Two companies which tried to bring in P20-million worth of misdeclared and undervalued goods now own the dubious distinction of being the first casualties this year of government’s sutained war against smuggling.

The Run After The Smugglers (RATS) Program of the Bureau of Customs netted one of the country’s major importers of steel and stainless products, three companies engaged in onion smuggling and an importer of general merchandise as the agency continues to wage an unrelenting campaign to make smuggling unprofitable.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) various charges involving violations of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines against the proprietors of two companies found to have brought in assorted products with an estimated value of over P300 million during the last six months alone.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) scored another hit in its campaign against technical smuggling when it seized and confiscated ten (10) 20-footer container vans of angle bars with total value of P7 million.

It used to be that the influx of counterfeit goods from neighboring sources was unabated. Cheap branded items from designer apparel, toys and light tools and machinery flooded the market until recently when the Bureau of Customs, thru the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service’s Intellectual Property Division flexed its muscles and stood form in its drive to weed out fake goods.

A new requirement has been added to the layers of regulatory measures being implemented by the Bureau of Customs to prevent the entry of illegally imported motor vehicles into the country.