Over the past couple of weeks, you may have seen a certain Porsche 918 Spyder on your social media feeds. Sadly, this rare Porsche was the subject of an issue surrounding illegal license plates, which led to its driver receiving a show-cause order from the Land Transportation Office (LTO). However, the trouble did not stop there.
After the vehicle was voluntarily surrendered to the agency, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) was called in to provide more information about its importation. Further research then revealed that the 918 Spyder was wrongfully labeled as an entirely different model in September 2021.
Specifically, it was identified as a Porsche Boxster, which, according to the BOC, has a dutiable value of just P3.26 million. That figure marks a significant disparity from the 918 Spyder’s approximate value of P48.02 million.
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The bureau also disclosed that while the 918 Spyder’s entry papers recognized the vehicle as a Boxster, its Certificate of Payment and LTO registration correctly identified it. Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno then took the opportunity to stress the importance of modernizing internal systems.
“Ang ganitong modus ay nangyari sa ilalim ng lumang sistema. Sa pamamagitan ng eCP (electronic Certificate of Payment) at mas mahigpit na koordinasyon sa LTO, mas nagiging mahirap ang mga ganitong iregularidad. Muli, ang full automation ang pangmatagalang solusyon upang tuluyang matigil ang maling kalakarang ito,” said Nepomuceno.
While neither agency offered an explanation as to why the 918 was misdeclared, a joint investigation is ongoing to resolve the matter. As the LTO takes the overall lead, the bureau is verifying the possible violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
As for the driver involved, he also willingly gave up his license to the LTO, along with a “verified answer” to the corresponding show-cause order. The 918 Spyder in question is still in the custody of the LTO, but will soon be turned over to the BOC for further proceedings.
