Shell denies blackmailing govt over imports seizure
MANILA, Philippines - Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation has clarified that it was not blackmailing the government when it said that the planned seizure of P43 billion worth of its fuel imports might result in the closure of its Bataan refinery.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) threatened to seize future imports of Shell and sell these in an auction to collect P7.3 billion in excise taxes from the oil firm's importation of Catalytic Cracked Gasoline (CCG) and Light Catalytic Cracked Gasoline (LCCG) from 2004 to 2009.
"This is not blackmail. We are just making them aware of the natural consequence and impact on the economy due to their insistence to collect excise taxes from Shell twice,” said Shell legal counsel Simeon Marcelo.
"It is unfortunate that Shell and the economy should be the sacrificial lambs in the government’s efforts to plug their revenue collection shortfall. They are resorting to taxes that are not legal since this is double taxation," he added.
The BOC wants Shell to pay excise taxes for its CCG and LCCG imports on belief that these are unleaded gasoline.
However, Marcelo said that CCG and LCCG are just raw materials for the production of unleaded gasoline as they still have to be processed to comply with the Philippine National Standards and provisions of the Clean Air Act before they could be used to fuel cars.
He pointed out that Shell pays excise taxes for finished products made from CCG and LCGG, thus paying the same taxes for the raw materials will result in double taxation.
Marcelo also explained that Shell has never sold CCG and LCCG in the market and even a verification report by the BOC failed to find any evidence that these imports have been sold as finished products.
Shell earlier warned that if its imports were seized, it would have to shut down its refinery, resulting in fuel supply shortage and P11 billion in monthly losses for the company.
"The matter is already pending before the Court of Tax Appeals and we hope the CTA will intervene to stop the planned seizures by the Bureau of Customs. Let us just wait for the decision of the court," Marcelo said.
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Who Are The Real Smugglers?
The problem with the BOC is that they pick on legitimate importers and try to squeeze many of them to come across over and under the table. In the meantime, they turn a convenient blind eye to the real smugglers who deprive the country of taxes and duties. Let's be brutal about a truth that many already know about: RAMPANT SMUGGLING GOES ON WITH THE GRAND CONNIVANCE OF MANY CAREER CRIMINALS UP AND DOWN THE LINE AT THE BOC. There is no political will to go after these elements in the BOC because they have protectors in high, nay, VERY HIGH, places. It does not matter which administration is in power; there will always be a clique close to the powers-that-be who will be assigned the lucrative business that is the BOC. Ask any legitimate business or industry association that tries to keep their noses clean about their familiarity with the smuggling rings and their controllers that abound. It is no wonder that the government can never collect enough revenue when most of what should be going to the public coffers are lining the pockets of the smuggling kings and their protectors. Many know who these are so the question that always begs an answer is: who can do anything about it?