The Bureau of Customs (BoC) denied anew the appeal of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation not to hold their future shipments of Catalytic Cracked Gasoline (CCG) at the ports unless they pay the government P7.3 billion in back excise tax this December.

For the second time, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the motion for reconsideration filed by Pilipinas Shell was dismissed by BoC so they can no longer ask for an extension of payment for their uncollected excise tax.

Morales signed a two-page letter informing the oil company's country tax manager and lawyer Nigel Avila that the BoC will put on hold their CCG shipments if they fail to settle their financial obligations during the month.

“In the light of the foregoing, please be informed that your Motion for Reconsideration is denied for lack of merit and you are hereby ordered to pay, within 10 days from receipt hereof, the P7,348,767,933.00 (subject to recomputation due to availment of lower specific tax rate before the effectivity of RA 9337 on 15 July 2009),” Morales said in the letter.

He added that the principal liability of Pilipinas Shell shipments is covered by the import entries cited in the demand letters of District Collector (Juan Tan) of the Port of Batangas dated January 30 and September 14 of this year.

The P7.3-billion unpaid excise tax covers the period of import entries declared as CCG from 2004 until 2009 when the shipments of the oil products reportedly arrived through the Port of Batangas.

Morales is hopeful that dismissing their appeal “would force them (Pilipinas Shell) to pay,” saying the BoC is badly in need of money to offset its revenue collection shortfall from January to November as a result of the ongoing global financial crisis.

The customs commissioner said the oil company has to comply with their demand payment to avoid any inconvenience on their part. Failure to do so, Pilipinas Shell might also incur additional expenses for interests, surcharges and penalties and possible court action, he added.

Under Section 1508 of the Tariffs and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), BoC is authorized not to release future shipments of unleaded gasoline that has been declared as CCG, if the oil company is not complying with demand payments.