Road Sense
There’s a brand new McLaren 620R supercar parked in a container van at the Port of Manila. It was seized by the Bureau of Customs early this week for misdeclaration.
It was declared as a Porsche Cayman sports car which would have been taxed lower than the McLaren super car.
It arrived in the country last July 16 from Hong Kong but authorities believe it could have started its journey from Europe or the USA.
In a news report, the Customs said the consignee declared duties and taxes amounting only to P1.5 million, instead of P15 million if it was properly declared as the McLaren 620R.
Customs officials said that although similar in car type, the actual shipment, the McLaren 620R super car, is valued at P33 million and has the corresponding duties and taxes of P16,771,688.91.
Only 350 of these were made. It makes 612 horsepower, can accelerate from 0-100 in 2.9 seconds, and reach a top speed of 300 km/h. It uses expensive composite materials to tip the scales at just 1,282 kg, the average weight of a small sedan.
“We are not prohibiting the importation of these shipments. We are only asking you to declare it right and pay the appropriate duties and taxes so we can collect revenues for the country’s pandemic response,” Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla said.
So what now for that beautiful supercar?
Customs officials said the bureau will consider auctioning off the seized luxury vehicle for additional revenues. Or it might be destroyed.
“We will seek guidance from the commissioner whether to destroy or auction off the seized luxury vehicle for additional revenues,” Maronilla said.
Port of Manila District Collector Michael Angelo Vargas has issued a warrant of seizure and detention on the shipment while the consignee and broker of the shipment are now facing possible charges for violation of Section 1400 in relation to Section 1113 of RA 10863, the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Despite the pandemic, it’s business as usual for people who think of ways to defraud the government of taxes.