The head of the Philippines’ Bureau of Customs (BOC) has reiterated his commitment to stamping out mis-invoicing.

Earlier this year, Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said his office is working on an electronic platform to curb the undervaluation of imports through mis-invoicing (Trade Based Financial Crime, 20 January 2017).

Public clamour

Amidst what local media is describing as a “public clamour for investigation” Faeldon has now declared that he wants his tenure as BOC head to be defined by a substantial reduction of the “prevalent” mis-invoicing of imported goods.

He also said he was determined to curb the fraudulent misrepresentation or mis-declaration – both under-declaration and over-declaration – of the real value of imported goods.

“We are ready to use all available options in the probe against erring companies [importing] oil, motor vehicles and cigarettes to make sure we control all forms of revenue leaks that are seriously detrimental to hitting revenue targets,” Faeldon told local media.

Critical reforms

“The probe is part of the BOC’s mandated effort to collect revenues, stop bribery in the agency, and ferociously snuff smuggling to hit revenue targets and enforce critical reforms in line with the policies of President Duterte,” he added.

The electronic platform to curb the undervaluation of imports through mis-invoicing announced by BOC earlier this year will set a reference value for every imported commodity based on the historical value of previous import shipments, prevailing market values and statistical studies.