SunStar
+ January 18, 2021 THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has seized in 2020 an estimated P9.746 billion worth of smuggled goods, of which over half were illicit tobacco products.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III that the BOC apprehended smuggled cigarettes and other tobacco products in 150 of the 792 operations conducted by the bureau in various ports in 2o20.
As ordered by Dominguez, the BOC and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) intensified their respective operations against smugglers and tax evaders last year despite the mobility restrictions triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
“For the anti-smuggling effort of the BOC, the consolidated estimated value of seized shipments last year is P9.746 billion, of which P5.217 billion are from seizures of cigarettes and tobacco, P1.85 billion are from drugs seizure and P1.02 billion from counterfeit items,” Guerrero told Dominguez during a recen