Manila: The Bureau of Customs (BOC), through its Intellectual Property Rights Division, has seized counterfeit apparel valued at an estimated PHP482 million and bearing popular international and local brands, from Bangladesh. In a press briefing on Thursday at the Port of Manila (POM), BOC officials headed by Assistant Commissioner, lawyer Vincent Philip Maronilla, inspected two containers with 1,287 boxes full of different apparel declared as socks. The consignee was Rising Luck Consumer Goods Trading.
According to Philippines News Agency, the items bore the trademarks of multiple global and local brands such as Jag, Bench, Zara, Givenchy, Fubu, Lee, H and M, Cotton On, Lacoste, Burberry, Essentials, Champion, Jordan, Levi's, A Bathing Ape, Oakley, RRJ, Calvin Klein, and Off-white. Maronilla said the containers were transshipped to Singapore before being forwarded to Manila, to evade the BOC's profiling system. These arrived in late August and were flagged for examination following intelligence reports indicating possible misdeclaration and suspected Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) infringement.
During a 100 percent physical inspection conducted on Oct. 9, Customs authorities confirmed that the shipments contained fake branded apparel. Each item was estimated to have a market value of PHP2,500, amounting to a total of PHP482,625,000. A warrant of seizure and detention was issued on Oct. 28 for violations of Section 118 (Prohibited Importation and Exportation) in relation to Sections 1113 and 1401 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and Republic Act 8293, or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
Maronilla noted that their intensified efforts against counterfeit goods serve to protect Filipino consumers and uphold the integrity of legitimate enterprises. "The sale and distribution of counterfeit products not only deceive consumers but also harm honest businesses that comply with the law," he said. The shipments are now subject to condemnation, and the BOC is pursuing the filing of criminal charges against the parties involved.
