An official of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) on Tuesday labeled as “hoax” several news reports indicating the bureau has slapped charges against a local cigarette manufacturer and 101 importers due to questionable shipments. However, he made it clear that the bureau may still consider filing charges and suspending other firms once they are proven guilty. Several news reports have said that cases have been filed against 101 importers and brokers because of questionable shipments and that Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon has ordered Mighty Corporation and other companies to provide proof that their shipments were unintentionally misdeclared. The BoC identified the the first batch of suspended importers as Holdhigh Trading, Coco CorporationTechnologies, Manhattan Chemical Corporation, Trikis Enterprises, Harbinger International Trading, and Richco Marketing. The BoC is currently investigating several importers of oil, luxury vehicles, and cigarettes to firmly establish air-tight legal actions against errant importers.

Source: Manila Times February 21, 2017 17:37 UTC