SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday called for a Senate inquiry on the rising cases of luxury car smuggling into the country.
Gatchalian said this deprives the government of much-needed revenues that could be used to fund the provision of basic services.
“Despite the penalties imposed on smuggling and the efforts of various government agencies to curb its incidence, the smuggling of high-end luxury vehicles remains prevalent,” Gatchalian said.
“It bears stressing that smuggling causes a significant impact on the economy. Aside from revenue loss, the continued smuggling of luxury vehicles greatly affects the automotive industry, particularly legitimate businesses,” he added.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said this is the main reason behind Senate Resolution 1318 calling for the conduct of an inquiry on the matter.
He said that last month alone, three separate raids involving luxury cars were conducted by the Bureau of Customs.
The first raid, conducted on February 13 at the AC Che Gong Miao car shop in Pasay City and Top Car Specialist and Trading, yielded P1.4 billion worth of smuggled luxury vehicles
The next day, another operation resulted in the seizure of P366 million worth of smuggled luxury vehicles from the alleged seller, ACH High-End Motor Service Center.
Last February 19, a third raid was conducted at Auto Vault Speed Shop in Taguig City, resulting in the seizure of P900 million worth of smuggled luxury vehicles.
“Amid (the) rampant smuggling of luxury vehicles, the government needs to review its approach in combating smuggling in the country, “Gatchalian said, adding that the government should do everything in its power to curb smuggling.
Gatchalian explained that under Section 149 of the National Internal Revenue Code, an ad valorem tax on automobiles is imposed based on the manufacturer or importer’s selling price, net of excise, and value-added tax.
He said this means that a vehicle with a net manufacturer’s price or importer’s selling price of over P4 million shall be levied a 50 percent excise tax.
