December 10th, 2024
House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay 2nd District) has asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue to look into the filings and tax payments of top rice importers, following allegations of profiteering in the domestic rice trade.
“Congress cannot request tax filings. They are protected by Section 270 of the Tax Code. But the BIR can verify their own assessments and records. These top importers are importing in the billions. So, their tax payments should reflect that,” Salceda said.
Salceda adds that a charge of tax evasion would then allow the Anti Money Laundering Council to look into top importers’ transactions, “as tax evasion is a predicate offense that would allow AMLC to look deeper.”
Salceda noted that “around the time of the President’s rice price ceiling, the gap between landed import price and domestic retail price was just 3 pesos per kilo. Now it has swelled to 20 pesos per kilo, even as farmgate price also went down.”
“This is just short of being supernatural. There is clearly pricing abuse— we just need to pinpoint at which stage.”
“We will be calling in the big retailers and big retailers wholesalers next. Much of the profiteering seems to be in that sector, as well.”
Salceda also pointed out that there seems to be signs of hoarding in the market.
“Rice inventory is up 24 percent year on year. We have consistently breached all import projections of the USDA. And some importers are delaying withdrawal of imports from our ports.”
“These are signs of both speculation and possibly hoarding. They could be speculating that the lower import tariffs will be reverted to previous levels.”
Salceda says that the Murang Pagkain Supercommittee will be having an executive session with the Department of Agriculture tomorrow to hear the DA’s efforts to curb price manipulation in the rice trade.