DUTIES AND TAXES generated by the fuel marking program totalled P330.286 billion as of Dec. 9, according to the Department of Finance.
The program, which started in 2019, has resulted in the marking of 33.539 billion litters of fuel as a deterrent to smuggling.
Some P300.47 billion in duties and taxes were generated by the Bureau of Customs, while P29.81 billion resulted from the imposition of excise taxes.
Some 24.63 billion liters were marked in Luzon, while 7 billion and 1.8 billion liters were marked in Mindanao and the Visayas, respectively.
Diesel accounted for 60.92% of all fuel marked while gasoline and kerosene accounted for 38.55% and 0.53%.
The program deters smuggling by injecting a special dye into fuel to signify that the shipment is tax-paid. The absence of the dye is deemed prima facie evidence of smuggling.
In November, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved a bill seeking to suspend or reduce the excise tax on some fuel products for six months amid rising global oil prices.
In September 2020, the government started collecting a fuel marking fee of P0.06884 per liter, inclusive of value-added tax on manufactured, refined and imported petroleum products. — Luz Wendy T. Noble