(Eagle News)–The Bureau of Customs has collected P487 million in additional revenues as a result of its post-clearance audits on importers.
The BOC said in a statement on Saturday, June 20, that of this amount, P19,755,564.47 were the result of an audit on five companies/importers, while P160,027,224.51 were collected from 24 companies that applied for the Prior Disclosure Program and were covered by existing Audit Notification Letters issued against Customs bonded warehouse operators and their members suspected of having violated Customs regulations.
The PDP program is where “errors and omissions in goods declaration resulting in a deficiency in duties and taxes on past importations are earlier disclosed to lessen the gravity of an offense or mistake made,” the BOC said.
The P307,237,733.72, the BOC said, came from 12 companies not covered by any existing ANL, which were issued by the bureau’s Post Clearance Audit Group – Compliance Assessment Office (PCAG-CAO) through its five audit divisions from January to June 5.
According to the bureau, the audit was provided for under Sec. 1000 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and Customs Administrative Order 01-2019, and aims to ensure that proper duties and taxes are collected even after the shipments have already been released.
Under the administrative order and the CMTA, the BOC may conduct an audit examination, inspection, verification, and investigation of records pertaining to any goods declaration generally within three years from the date of final payment of duties and taxes or customs clearance.
“The BOC-PCAG will remain steadfast in encouraging voluntary disclosures and protecting government revenue through compliance audits of imported goods, especially during this critical time,” the Customs bureau said.
