Photo: Facebook / Bureau of Customs
Death and taxes, the two things in life you simply can’t get away from. While this is perhaps a widely-known saying, one man from the Philippines got to verify it on his own earlier this week, when customs busted him for shipping in a new McLaren and trying to avoid paying taxes for it.
You’d think a person who can afford to buy a brand new McLaren 620R would take into account the duties and taxes he’d have to pay when importing the supercar from abroad, but this wasn’t the case here. According to the Bureau of Customs, the car was shipped to Manila, in the Philippines, on July 16.
The documents attached claimed that the shipment included a new Porsche Cayman, which, though an excellent mid-engined sports car, is a far cry from a McLaren. Any McLaren.
Technically, the man didn’t “disguise” the car in any way except on paper. He was going for one of the oldest tricks in the book, of hiding something in plain sight, while hoping no one would notice. But someone did, and that someone happened to be the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, which seized the car on August 3 after verifying it was, indeed, not a Porsche. The 620R on the rear wing was probably a good giveaway.
The BOC says that the owner would have had to pay duties and taxes for the McLaren of Php 16,771,688 (approximately $343,000). By declaring the car a Porsche, he was hoping to get away with paying considerably less, Php 1,500,000 ($30,581).
“Consignee and broker of the shipment are now facing possible charges for violation of Section 1400 in relation to Section 1113 of RA 10863 also known as the Customs Modernization and Tarrif Act (CMTA),” BOC says. This, in addition to having the McLaren seized.
The documents attached claimed that the shipment included a new Porsche Cayman, which, though an excellent mid-engined sports car, is a far cry from a McLaren. Any McLaren.
Technically, the man didn’t “disguise” the car in any way except on paper. He was going for one of the oldest tricks in the book, of hiding something in plain sight, while hoping no one would notice. But someone did, and that someone happened to be the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, which seized the car on August 3 after verifying it was, indeed, not a Porsche. The 620R on the rear wing was probably a good giveaway.
The BOC says that the owner would have had to pay duties and taxes for the McLaren of Php 16,771,688 (approximately $343,000). By declaring the car a Porsche, he was hoping to get away with paying considerably less, Php 1,500,000 ($30,581).
“Consignee and broker of the shipment are now facing possible charges for violation of Section 1400 in relation to Section 1113 of RA 10863 also known as the Customs Modernization and Tarrif Act (CMTA),” BOC says. This, in addition to having the McLaren seized.
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