BOC seized P600M of smuggled counterfeit goods

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Friday said it confiscated more than half-a-billion pesos worth of counterfeit products in Cavite.

In a statement, the BOC said it seized, through its Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Intellectual Property Rights Division (CIIS-IPRD), smuggled infringing goods with an estimated value of P600,000,000.00 in Kawit, Cavite on March 28, 2022.

The Customs said its implementing team, composed of personnel from the CIIS-IPRD, BOC-Port of Manila (POM), BOC Revenue Collection and Monitoring Group (RCMG) – Legal Service, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), inspected a warehouse located in Toclong-San Sebastian Road, Kawit, Cavite.

Its inspection was pursuant to a Letter of Authority (LOA) issued by BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.

“Prior sealing the subject warehouse, BOC examiners, in the presence of CIIS and the AFP operatives, conducted an inventory of the goods comprising of motorcycle accessories, footwears and apparels bearing the brands of Nike, Adidas, and Gucci, among others,” the BOC said.

Under Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), infringing goods are prohibited articles and should immediately be seized or confiscated.

Further investigation is also underway for other possible violations of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA 8293) and the CMTA, the Customs said.

The BOC said it remains resolute in its duty to strictly enforce Customs laws and to prevent the proliferation of hazardous counterfeit and smuggled goods.—Ted Cordero/AOL, GMA News