THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it collected P91.65 billion from duties and taxes on marked oil products so far in the September-July period.
In a report Monday, the BoC said it marked 10.66 billion of fuel products during the period.
The monthly volume of fuel products marked has been steadily increasing since April when the lockdown was in full effect. The BoC processed 1.53 billion liters last month, up from 1.17 billion liters in June and 790 million liters in May. In April the total was 770 million liters.
In the seven months to July, the bureau marked 8.8 billion liters.
Around 75% of the total was in Luzon, 20% in Mindanao and 5% in the Visayas.
Diesel accounted for 61.96% of the total, gasoline 37.55% and 0.49% kerosene.
The report was released by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III via Viber.
The program is designed to curtail oil smuggling. The marker dye injected into the fuel is meant to signify that any given shipment of fuel went through the various stages of inspection and tax payment. The absence of the dye is deemed prima facie evidence that the fuel was smuggled.
In February, the Finance department estimated that the government can generate P20 billion in additional revenue this year from the fuel marking program.
It estimated that revenue foregone due to oil smuggling was between P20 billion and P40 billion a year. — Beatrice M. Laforga
