LEGAZPI CITY, Albay — Tatlong gasoline station sa Legazpi City ang sinalakay at pansamantalang ipinasara ng mga tauhan ng Bureau of Customs (BoC) makaraang makumpiska ang mahigit 39,000 litro ng non-compliant gasoline na tinatayang ₱2.6 milyon ang halaga.

Kaugnay ito sa kampanya ng BOC upang sugpuin ng ahensya ang talamak na fuel smuggling sa Port of Legazpi sa nasabing lalawigan.

“During the random field testing conducted by the BoC Enforcement and Security Service (BOC-ESS), in coordination with Société Générale de Surveillance Philippines, both the initial and confirmatory tests found the marker below the required compliance threshold, indicating that the fuel was withdrawn to evade taxes and duties,” ayon kay Customs district collector Guillermo Pedro Francia IV.

Dahil dito, inisyuhan ng mga warrant of seizure and detention ang nasabing gasolina na nakaimbak sa sinalakay na mga gasolinahan dahil sa mga paglabag sa Department of Finance-Bureau of Internal Revenue-BoC Joint Circular No. 001-2021, na may kaugnayan sa Section 148-A ng Republic Act (RA) 8424, o ang National Internal Revenue Code, na tumutukoy din sa RA 10963, o ang Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law.

“These findings highlight the persistent challenges we face in enforcing fuel regulations. It is evident that some operators continue to defy compliance measures,” pinunto ni Francia.

“However, we are determined to identify and penalize those who are non-complaint due to threats to revenue and undermines lawful competitions,” dagdag nito