CTA Case No. 1453 (Decision)

lmPYl!tiC oj T E P �ILIPPlNES GOURT OF TAX APPEALS QUEZ'.)N CITY ' BIENVENIDO l1APA, C. T. A. CASE No . 1~53 Petitioner, - ver sus - CONNISSIONER OF CUSTOHS, Respondent . x- - - - - - - - - - - -x DE CI S I 0 N This is an appeal from the decision of the respondent Commissioner of Customs dated August 7 , 1963 , aff irming that of the Collector of Cus- toms in Se izure Proceedings No s . 1949 and 1953, ordering petitioner and the surety (Pioneer In- surance & Surety Corporation) to pay, jointly and severally , the total sl:lm of ? 11 , 197. 00, rep- resenting the appraised value of various imported merchandise which were ordered forfeited for vio- lation of Central Bank Circular s Nos . 44 and 45 , in relation to Section 1363(f) of the ~ev1s ed Ad- ministrative Code. The facts of the case, as stated in the stipula tion of the parties dated January 26 , 1966 , are as follmvs: 111 . That peti tioner imported into the Philippines the follo-vTing , to wit: 40 packages of old gunny bags under Registry No . 1197, and declared under Entry No . 73583 , Series of 1954. 60 packages of various merchandise under Registry

DECISION - C. T.! . CASE NO. 1453 - 2- No. 1197 and declared under Entry No . 73585 , Series of 1954. 112. That the above mentioned ship- ments arrived at the Port of Manila on September 15 , 1954 from Hongkong on board the S/S TALIS~.AN; "3 . That the estimated customs duties and sales tax and other charges on the two shipments were duly pa id under Official Receipts Nos . 52662 and 93202 ; u4. That the above shipments in- volved no dollar remittances and were duly covered by corresponding Bill of Lading, Consular Invoice and Commercial i nvoices but were not covered by either import license or release certificate; "5. That the said shipments were seized and were the subject of Seizure Identification Proceedings Nos . 1949 and 1953 , respectively , instituted by the Collector of Customs and/or his duly authorized representative for alleged violation of Central Bank Circulars Nos . 44 and 45 in relation to Sections 1363 {f) and 1250 of the Revised Administra- tive Code; "6 . That pending decision of the seizure proceedings before the Collector of Customs , subject shipments were re- leased to the petitioner under surety bonds Nos . 059 and 060 of the Pioneer Insurance and Surety Corporation both dated September 14, 199'lt, in the total sum of P11 ,197. 00 , issued in favor of the Bureau of Customs ; "7 . That on Narch 24 , 1961 , the Collector of Customs rendered a decision ordering petitioner as well as his surety to pay in cash to the Bureau of Customs within fifteen (15) days from receipt of said decision, the full amount of Pll , - 197. 00; us . That the decision of the Collec- tor of Customs was appealed to the Com- missioner of Customs who on August 7, 1963 , affirmed the decision of the Collec- tor of Customs . "

DECISION - C. T. A. CASE NO. 1~53 >- 3 - The only question raised in this appeal is whether or not the merchandise in question are subject to forfeiture . Petitioner assails the va~ty of the decree of forfeiture on the ground that Circulars Nos . ~ and ~5 of the Central Bank have been repealed by Central Bank Circular No . 133 , thereby ex- tinguishing any liability that had been incurred under the former circulars . The issue raised is not new, the same having been settled by the S~preme Court in previous simi- lar cases , the most recent of which is the case of Bienvenido Capulong vs . Timoteo Y. Aseron , in his capacity as .Acting Commissioner of Customs , G. R. No . L- 22989 , Nay 14 , 1966 , wherein it was held : t'Petitioner also contends that the merchandise in question cannot be legal- ly forfeited under Central Bank Circulars Nos . 44 and 45 because these circulars have already been repealed by Central Bank Circular 133 . This contention is without merit . Central Bank Circular 133 has not exactly repealed Central Bank Circulars Nos . ~ and 45 but rather it reenacted them when it provided therein that all existing regulations not incon- sistent with the circular are deemed incorporated and made integral parts thereof by reference . And it cannot be disputed that both Central Bank Circulars Nos . 44 and 45 and Central Bank Circular No. 133 have a common purpose , - which is to require the presentation of a release certificate from the Central Bank before any importation may be made to the Phil- ippines . Evidently , the purpose of these circulars is to keep a tab: of the volume of imports that come into the Philippines in order to enable the Central Bank to make a survey and study of the appropriate measures that may be adopted to remedy the

DECISION - C. T. A. CASE NO . 1453' - 4- long- dra'm financial crisis in the coun- tryo nEven assuming that Central Bank Circular No . 133 had the effect of re- pealing impliedly Central Bank Circulars Nos . 44 and 45 , such repeal , however , cannot have the effect of abating the forfeiture case instituted against peti- tioner for the simple reason that for- feiture proceedings are civil in nature and not criminal . In this sense , the r eal cannot be given any retroactive !'feet . 11 � VI~~ ; liN OF THE FO EGGING CONSIDERATI ONS, the decision appealed from is hereby affirmed , with costs against the p~itioner . SO _DHDERED . / Quezon City , August 10 , 1966 . WE CONCUR : /il4' /�~,~Ld. I ~ ANISLAO R. ALVAREZ Associ ate Judge ~ -t~ RAMON L. AVANCENA Associate Judge