THE Commission on Audit has completely lifted the notice of charge issued in 2012 against officials of the Bureau of Customs concerning the grant of duty exemption totaling P11.56 billion on the importation of rice, corn, and sugar by the private sector through the National Food Authority.
In a five-page decision, the COA Commission Proper cleared Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) directors Ramon Cuyco and Edna Barrida of all liability in relation to the said transaction and upheld the validity of their decision to approve the grant of the exemption.
A notice of charge is issued by the audit team where there is a finding that there is an improper or inadequate collection of revenues due the government.
Under COA rules, however, the cluster director’s decision is subject to automatic review by the Commission Proper.
The latest COA ruling effectively reversed the 2013 decision of COA National Government Sector-Cluster 2 that held Cuyco liable in the amount of P283.62 million and Barrida for P2.037 billion.
Auditors had previously questioned the regularity of the tax subsidy extended to the NFA’s rice import worth P29.94 billion on April 7, 2009; sugar import worth P1.636 billion on February 25, 2010; rice import for the Philippine International Trading Corp (PITC) worth P2.36 billion on May 18, 2010; rice import worth P6.7 billion on February 25, 2011; and rice and sugar imports worth P2.9 billion on April 29, 2011.
The audit team said the grant of exemption was contrary to Executive Order (EO) No. 93, series of 1986 which declared “all tax and duty incentives granted to government and private entities” withdrawn save only for a few exceptions.
In addition, it noted that under the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), all imported articles are subject to payment of customs duties and taxes except items enumerated in Section 105, which did not include importation of rice, sugar and corn.
Cuyco and Barrida have questioned why the other signatories to the FIRB resolution were not held liable in the notice of charge. They also challenged the jurisdiction of the BOC audit team over the FIRB, saying it is the COA-DOF that had the proper jurisdiction.
