MANILA - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Monday said it has assigned personnel to monitor a car dealer in Pasig City over luxury vehicles with questionable documents.

The BOC said its Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Intelligence Group (CIIS-IG) raided the car dealership in Barangay Ugong on July 4 after it confirmed that the hub is storing "and/or openly dealing exotic and hypercars without proper documentation."

"Upon arrival at the dealership, the team found 197 imported and locally sourced vehicles. However, 87 of said units were identified to have questionable documents. The 100% inventory of the subject vehicles was completed on July 6, 2023," the BOC said in a statement.

The BOC said the brands of the 87 vehicles under probe were Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche Macan, Jaguar, GMC Savana, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and Land Rover, among others.

CIIS Director Verne Enciso clarified that "there was reportedly no tight lockdown in the showroom."

"This was because of the unusual location of the car hub wherein the compound is being shared by several other business establishments. If a tight lockdown was put in place, our team would have also compromised the operations of the other businesses there," the official said.

Enciso denied the “special operation” was led by a Deputy Commissioner and a lawyer of a different group.

“Every operation we conduct is a product of intense brainstorming and weeks of monitoring, analyzing, and investigation. We don’t go out there on a whim. Our team has been working day and night to confirm each information we get from our sources,” the official said.

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BOC Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy also said proper procedure was followed in the operation.

The car dealer has 15 days after the raid "to submit evidence of payment of correct duties and taxes due on the subject imported goods, otherwise the same will be ordered seized and undergo corresponding forfeiture proceedings pursuant to Customs Administrative Order No. 10-2020," the BOC said.

"Pending submission of the required evidence of payment, BOC agents and officers shall underguard the hub to secure the subject vehicles 24/7," the bureau said.

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