Philippine Customs refers Shell’s case to DOE

The Philippines’ Bureau of Customs has asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to determine if the bureau has the right to collect excise taxes amounting to ₱1.6 billion (US$ ) on the alkylate importations of Philipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. after independent tests confirmed that alkylate is not a finished product. “The recent controversy surrounding the alkylate importation of Pilipinas Shell boils down to the question as to whether or not alkylate is an intermediate product and therefore not subject to excise tax as claimed by Pilipinas Shell, or a finished product, specifically motor gasoline as claimed by the officials of the Port of Batangas,” said former Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez. “The only way for us to find out is through the engagement of a third party… an independent body that can provide a credible and irrefutable certification on the true nature of alkylate,” he said. According to Alvarez, the bureau sought the expertise of SGS Philippines to test a sample of the alkylate from a Shell shipment. Independent tests confirmed that alkylate is not a finished product as the sample did not pass the Philippine National Standards for premium plus, premium and regular gasoline on the 10-percent volume recovered distillation test and on the octane number test for premium plus gasoline, Alvarez said. (August 27, 2011)