On January 25, 2022, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) intercepted a shipment containing a sports car, allegedly being shipped into a country as a brand-new vehicle. This time around, the said shipment originates from Malaysia, and the car in question is a Lamborghini Huracan.
The official post from BOC about the seized Huracan
According to the BOC, the Huracan is instead a second-hand unit worth Php 14 million. Curiously enough, the suggested retail price of the 2020 Lamborghini Huracan sits at $261,274, or around Php 13.3 million, but that’s before taxes, other fees, dealer markups, and whatnot.
As a side note, an imported vehicle is subject to a 40 percent customs duty tax, a 10 percent value-added tax, and a rather hefty Ad Valorem Tax ranging from 15 percent to 100 percent depending on the car’s displacement.
On top of that, the BOC also has rules about who and what vehicle can be imported. On the “who” part, only those issued with a Certificate of Authority to Import from the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau can bring in used cars.
Furthermore, there are restrictions on what kind of used cars may be imported. These range from personally-owned motor vehicles, special purpose vehicles, and trucks with a varying range of gross weights.
That said, the Huracan in question, and the people involved in its allegedly illegal importation are already being investigated by the BOC. So for now, not much details about it were released.
If you look closely at the car in the picture above, it resembles the Performante version
Illegally imported sports cars and luxury cars are a continuous plague that the BOC has to deal with. Back in October 2021, the said agency also seized around Php 500 million worth of vehicles in Quezon City and in Pampanga.
Even earlier than that, BOC also seized a back which included a Nissan GT-R, and a Ford Shelby GT500.
In December 2021, the BOC, together with the Department of Finance, the Bureau of Treasury, and the Land Bank of the Philippines held a government auction to sell seven seized sports cars. At that time though, the said auction attracted no bidders.
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