DUTIES AND TAXES collected from marked fuel products totaled P305.79 billion as of Oct. 22, dating back to the launch of the program in 2019, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

The volume of fuel on which the taxes were collected was 31.22 billion liters starting from Sept. 4, 2019.

Revenue generated includes P276 billion in Customs duties from September 2019 to Oct. 21 this year, along with P29.786 billion in excise taxes between December 2019 and July 2021.

Around 73.32% of the marked fuel volume was in Luzon, with 21.15% in Mindanao and 5.52% in the Visayas.

Diesel accounted for 60.93% of the volume and gasoline represented 38.54%. The rest was from kerosene.

The program aims to deter fuel smuggling by injecting a special dye into fuel products to signify tax compliance. Absence of the dye is deemed evidence that the fuel was smuggled.

The government in September last year began collecting a fuel marking fee of P0.06884 per liter, inclusive of value-added tax on all manufactured, refined or imported petroleum products.

Revenue foregone due to fuel smuggling was between P20 billion and P40 billion a year, the DoF said. — Jenina P. Ibañez

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