The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) continued to crack down on tax evasion and smuggling, charging a businessman of tax evasion and tagging another one as the ‘brain’ of a big smuggling syndicate.
At the BIR, authorities yesterday filed tax charges worth P46.6 million at the Department of Justice (DoJ)against a “big” fruit supplier and his auditor.
BoC officials, on the other hand, are raring to lodge a complaint against an alleged leader of a smuggling syndicate responsible for unabated extortion activities in Aduana.
Charged for tax evasion was Alvin Esguerra, a fruit and vegetable supplier for the Puregold group of companies.
Investigation conducted by the BIR showed Esguerra has been underdeclaring its sales to the bureau.
For instance, Puregold Price Club Inc. alone bought P43.97 million from Fruiveg Marketing in 2010 and P61.41 million in 2011.
Esguerra, however, only declared P2.7 million in taxable income for the two-year period.
Other Puregold companies also bought from Esguerra. Puregold Jr. Supermarket Inc. bought P20.91 million in 2010 and P32.77 million in 2011. Puregold Duty Free Inc. bought P531,130.48 from in 2011. And, Puregold Duty Free Subic Inc. bought P2.13 million from Fruiveg in 2011.
The BIR also filed charges against Esguerra’s auditor, Celia P. Mirasol-Gueco, an independent certified public accountant who certified Esguerra’s financial statements without any qualifying opinion.
The BIR said Esguerra violated sections 254 and 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code or attempted to evade taxes and failed to supply the BIR with correct and accurate information
Based on Esguerra’s sales to the Puregold companies, Esguerra should have paid P20.73 million in income tax in 2010 and P6.81 million in 2011 instead of P2,122.15 and P765,390.66, respectively.
Esguerra faces a fine of at least P30,000 and imprisonment of two to four years for violating section 254 of the National Internal Revenue Code and a fine of at least P10,000 and imprisonment of another one to three years for violating section 255 of the NIRC.
Meanwhile, a  certain  “Rene” was tagged by the BoC as the head of what is now known as the “mafia” inside the bureau.
BoC officials are hellbent on gathering evidences against Rene before charges are filed against him.
Said group is reportedly behind the extortion activities in Aduana.
Reports said Rene is conducting his own extortion activities in BoC by using the name of the commissioner Ruffy Biazon.
It was learned that part of Rene’s modus operandi is to introduce himself as a close relative of the commissioner and his wife.
Biazon and his wife vehemently denied Rene’s claims.
An investigation conducted by the Enforcement Security Service (ESS) Rene was even dropping the name of a presidential adviser to fortify the syndicate’s illegal business in Aduana and make him somebody to be afraid of.
Rene was said to be attending occasions where Biazon would be present to make it appear that he and the commissioner know each other and that he is rubbing elbows with “powerful men.”
Ealier, ESS chief, Gen. George Aliño was tasked by Biazon  to act on a tip that Rene was leading the smuggling syndicate inside the bureau.
Intelligence reports had it that Rene is protected by a former BoC official which is also a former member of the military.
Two more individuals, a certain “Teddy” and a “Jojo K” are also providing protection for Rene who has long been into various illegal transactions in many of the country’s ports.
Said protection given by the three enabled Rene’s group tpo extort money from legitimate brokers and importers.
Members of the syndicate included the seven fake BoC employees that were recently arrested by authorities upon orders from Biazon.
It can be remembered that the members of the syndicate, including also a certain “Nilo,” was able to put up their own office inside the BoC and wore fake BoC identification cards to make the group look legitimate.
Two of the seven fake employees that were arrested are reportedly connected with Jade Brothers Brokerage.
Biazon believes that with the leader of the smuggling syndicate already identified and the bureau poised to file charges against him,  the group was paralyzed and can no longer operate.
“Their happy days are over,” Biazon said.