The Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced last Thursday that its personnel intercepted nearly half-a-billion worth of counterfeit branded apparel bearing popular and local brands from Bangladesh.
According to the BOC, members of its Intellectual Property Rights Division seized P482-million worth of counterfeit branded apparel contained in 1,287 boxes of the fake items that were also misdeclared as socks.
The containers, which arrived at the Port of Manila last August, were initially routed through Singapore to evade the bureau’s profiling system, according to the BOC. Each item was estimated to have a market value of P2,500, amounting to a total of P482.625 million, the BOC added.
Following intelligence reports of possible misdeclaration and suspected intellectual property rights infringement, Customs officials conducted a physical inspection on October 9, confirming the contents to be counterfeit items.
The counterfeit apparel carried the trademarks of several international and local brands, including Jag, Bench, Zara, Givenchy, Fubu, Lee, H and M, Lacoste, Burberry, Essentials, Champion, Jordan, Levi’s, Bathing Ape, Oakley, RRJ, Calvin Klein and Off-white.
The BOC has issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention on October 28 for violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293).
The goods are now subject to condemnation and, according to the BOC, it will file criminal charges against the importers.
‘The sale and distribution of counterfeit products not only deceive consumers but also harm honest businesses that comply with the law,’ Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip C. Maronilla said. ‘This operation reflects our continuing resolve to ensure that only legitimate goods enter the Philippine market.’
The operation follows earlier enforcements by the BOC to curb the growing scale of counterfeit trade in the country.
This adds to the BOC’s seizure of P1.041 billion worth of counterfeit apparel and accessories as of the end of August this year.
The BOC has carried out 653 seizure operations from January to August this year, confiscating P34.725 billion worth of illicit items, such as various goods, natural resources, cigarettes and illegal drugs.