Philippine tax authority endorses 15% ethanol import tariff rate

The Philippines’ tariff commission has endorsed a new ethanol import tax rate of 15%, up from the current 1%, and has sent its proposal to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for final approval, a senior industry official said. The Ethanol Producers Association of the Philippines had proposed raising the tariff to 20% to spur investment in the local ethanol industry but the commission endorsed 15%, Tetchi Cruz Capellan, executive director of the Ethanol Producers Association of the Philippines (EPAP), said. “We expect the new tariff rate to be implemented within the first quarter of 2010,” Capellan said. (February 1, 2010)