Time to ask the Germans for the real story.
MANILA, Philippines – Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon has denied that donated relief goods from abroad are being taxed by the Bureau of Customs, which allegedly caused delays in its distribution to typhoon-hit areas.
Posts in social media went viral on Wednesday asking the Customs bureau to investigate the alleged taxing of donations from Germany.
Biazon said the allegations are not true and that the relief goods were released immediately and exempted from taxes.
“There's information going around social media that Customs allegedly taxed German donations that arrived via Lufthansa. This is not true. The shipment of German donations which arrived at the Lufthansa hangar via LH 9922 on Nov. 11, 2013 at 0434 AM from Republic of Germany carrying 23071 kilos of relief goods were released within the day, exempted from duties and tax,†Biazon said in a Facebook post.Biazon also earlier directed the BOC district collectors at the ports of Tacloban, Cebu and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to activate a “one stop shop†to speed up the processing and release of all donated relief goods from abroad.
“The typhoon victims in central Philippines have already suffered a lot. Many of them have lost their loved ones, homes, and for some, even their hopes. And to help them cope with the tragedy, the government is doing everything to get the much needed relief goods to them at the soonest possible time,†Biazon said.
Donations from foreign countries will not be taxed and will only require, among other documents, a letter of intent to donate goods, bill of Lading or airway bill, and a packing list and/or a commercial invoice for its immediate release.
The streamlined procedure was posted on the BOC website on Tuesday.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/11/13/13/customs-chief-denies-taxing-imported-relief-goods
