The Federation of Free Farmers urged the government to immediately investigate the apparent undervaluation of and the wrong application of tariff rates on rice imports which may have resulted in the loss of tariff revenues of at least P1.6 billion as of July 2019.
Latest reports indicated total imports may have already reached 3 million tons as of September, while tariff collections since the import liberalization already breached P10 billion.
A detailed study conducted by the FFF indicated, however, that tariff collections could have been higher by P1.6 billion from January to July 2019 because of declaration of import values, understatement of freight costs and the erroneous application of tariff rates on rice imports.
FFF national manager Raul Montemayor claimed the tariffs on rice imports were based on the cost of imports from the point of origin, or the “freight on board” or FOB price, plus the cost of freight and insurance, to come up with the “cost, insurance and freight” or CIF price.
