Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star)
- July 31, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Oil industry
players have expressed full support for the government’s fuel marking program
which they see as a means to plug oil smuggling in the country.
In a statement, the Philippine
Institute of Petroleum (PIP) said the program would serve as a mechanism to
fight smuggling and deter revenue leakages.
“As early as last year, our
members have been working closely with the Department of Finance (DOF) to
ensure the program’s proper and effective implementation. We support the
government’s efforts to curb smuggling which continues to undermine the
industry and the government in general,” PIP said.
The group believes that fuel marking
will address the shortfall in revenue collection provided that it is done on a
level playing field.
It has consistently stressed that
the program has to be implemented across all industry players in order for it
to be fully effective.
“The success of this program would
mean a significant increase in tax collection and the opportunity to utilize
these for much-needed social services and infrastructure. Consumers would also
be assured of the quality of fuels in the market coming only from reputable
sources,” PIP said.
Prior to the Tax Reform for
Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, the government lost approximately P40
billion in government revenues due to petroleum smuggling according to various
independent studies.
The DOF consulted PIP
member-companies on the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) last
June.
No comments:
Post a Comment