BOC sues trading firm over P57-M misdeclared shipments

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has filed criminal charges against Shinerise Trading Service in connection to “unlawful importation” of more than P57-million worth of misdeclared agriculture products.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the BOC said that it had filed the charges against Shinerise Trading Service after it misdeclared various agricultural products amounting to P57,730,000.

The BOC said that the 15 shipments, initially declared as fishballs, originated from China and arrived at the Port of Manila last Aug. 2. On inspection, however, authorities found that the shipments contained carrots, onions, broccoli, and potatoes.

Charges were filed particularly against Lorna Fernandez-Sagli, sole proprietress of Shinerise Trading Services, and Johnna Philippian Cristobal-Aceveda, licensed customs broker, for the unlawful importation of the products.

According to the BOC, they violated the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, Customs Administrative Order No. 2-2017, and the amended Revised Penal Code.

The bureau noted “that the apprehension is considered as a large scale agricultural smuggling since the value of the smuggled goods exceeded [P1,000,000].”

/atm