TAXES COLLECTED from marked fuel amounted to P242.252 billion as of June 11, with the anti-smuggling program in full swing nearly two years after it was implemented, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
The fuel marking program generated P213.866 billion in duties and taxes for the Bureau of Customs, which deals with fuel imports, while the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which oversees domestically-produced fuel, raised P28.386 billion in excise taxes, the DoF said.
The program processed 25.03 billion liters of fuel over the 21 months between September 2019 and June 11.
Some 73.4% of the fuel 18.37 billion liters was marked in Luzon, 21.3% or 5.35 billion liters in Mindanao and the remainder or 5.3% in the Visayas.
Diesel accounted for 60.9% or 15.25 billion liters while gasoline made up 38.6%, or 9.65 billion liters. Kerosene accounted for less than 1%.
The fuel marking program deters smuggling by injecting the products with a special dye to signify tax compliance. The absence of the dye is deemed prima facie evidence that the fuel was smuggled.
The implementing agencies began collecting in September 2020 a fuel marking fee of P0.06884 per liter, inclusive of value-added tax, charged on all manufactured, refined or imported petroleum products.
The DoF has estimated that revenue foregone due to oil smuggling was between P20 billion and P40 billion a year. — Beatrice M. Laforga
