Printing machinery imported sans clearance seized in Cebu

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu seized used printing machinery from Japan which did not have pre-shipment importation clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021.

In a post in its official Facebook page on Thursday, Oct. 7, the BOC Port of Cebu said the importer of the printing machinery is not registered with the agency.

“After stringent profiling, the Environmental Protection and Compliance Division-Enforcement and Security Service requested the issuance of alert order after verification with DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) revealed that importer is not registered with the agency and that no pre-shipment importation clearance was issued for the shipment,” reads a portion of the post.

After this, the assigned customs examiner conducted a physical examination, which resulted in the confiscation of the declared content of the shipment.

Charlito Martin Mendoza, acting district collector, then issued a warrant of seizure and detention against the shipment.

Mendoza found probable cause for violation of Section 1113 (f) and (I-5) in relation to Section 117 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, and DENR-EMB Department Administration Order (DAO) No. 2013-22.

Under DENR-EMB DAO No. 2013-22, the BOC Port of Cebu said, importers of used printing machinery must be registered with the agency and the shipment must be covered with pre-shipment importation clearance to be applied for at least 30 working days prior to actual importation.

“The Port of Cebu, with the guidance of Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero, remains fully committed in securing the country’s borders from the entry of prohibited and unlicensed goods,” the BOC Port of Cebu said.

The bureau did not name the importer. (WBS with PR)