PRESIDENTIAL anti-smuggling group chief
Antonio Villar Jr. on Friday said Rustan’s Group of Companies
will be charged with technical smuggling after his office found
evidence that it has been evading payment of millions of pesos
in tax duties by undervaluing its imported goods.
Villar said the evidence against Rustan’s is
overwhelming with voluminous files of receipts unearthed by his
office showing how the company has been undervaluing its
imported high-value products like branded clothes, perfumes and
other goods since the time of President Marcos.
Rustan’s is owned by the family of former
Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco, a Marcos crony. Bienvenido’s son
Rico, the company president, is the father-in-law of the
daughter of Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, the younger brother of First
Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
"This company has been cheating the
government for quite some time. High-end apparels were declared
very low, measly sums, particularly branded items such as
Lacoste, etc.," Villar said. He added that he suspects
connivance between Rustan’s and some rogue Bureau of Customs
employes, including high-ranking officials.
"Insiders have benefited from this scheme, up
to the higher ladder for sure. They are too greedy," Villar
said.
He said his office will initially file the
case before the BOC which will then see if the case should be
forwarded to the proper courts.
If found guilty for violating the Tariff and
Customs Code (RA 9135), Rustan’s officials could be jailed for
two to eight years and fined from five to eight times their
unpaid taxes.
Villar added that what they have found is
just the "tip of the iceberg" and it is possible that the
Rustan’s has also been violating Internal Revenue tax laws, in
which case, he said the firm’s alleged unpaid taxes could run up
to billions of pesos.
Rustan’s owns a chain of department stores and coffee shops
like Starbucks. Some of its imported brands include Gucci, Prada,
Ferragamo, Marc Jacobs, Lacoste, dkny, Michael Kors, Calvin
Klein, Kenneth Cole, Kate Spade, Marks and Spencer, Nine West,
Jackspade, Philippe Charriol, Cartier, Anne Klein, Armani
Exchange, Episode, Ralph Lauren, Bottega and Venetta. –
Raymond Africa
