Philippine Court stops BoC from seizing Shell oil imports as tax payment

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) suffered a setback in its bid to collect Php7.3 billion (US$163.34 million) from Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. after the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) stopped the bureau from seizing its oil imports as payment for alleged back taxes. Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the BoC for the meantime would abide by the CTA’s decision through a temporary restraining order (TRO) that asked them not to hold Shell’s future shipments in the next 60 days. Morales said the CTA only granted the oil company’s motion to stop the BoC from seizing its oil imports, under Section 1508 of the Tariffs and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), but it did not prohibit the agency from collecting the correct taxes on Catalyctic Crack Gasoline (CCG) and Light CCG (LCCG) shipments. (December 13, 2009)