The Philippine Fuel Marking Program is mandated under Section 44 of the recently passed Tax Reform and Acceleration Inclusion (TRAIN) Act and Section 148-A of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), respectively. TRAIN was signed into law by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on 19 December 2017 and imposes an excise tax on all petroleum products, including lubricating oils and greases. A fuel marking system will be mandatory under this legislation to ensure proper collection of excise taxes on petroleum products.

Fuel marking describes the process by which an invisible “marker” is blended with a product to track it through the supply chain – detecting smuggling, adulteration and dilution of fuels, as well as outright theft. Product samples are gathered from retailers and analysed to check if the correct amount of a marker is present. Implementation of a fuel marking program responds to calls from major oil industry players within the Philippines to address concerns about the smuggling of fuel into the country.

A Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of the Department of Finance (DOF), Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), in coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE), was created to formulate and implement the Fuel Marking Program. Currently, the TWG is conducting site visits and consultations with the petroleum industry to assist in formulating the implementing rules and regulations of the program. The Department of Finance (DOF) expects the fuel marking and monitoring system mandated under the proposed tax reform law to be in place by the second half of 2018 as part of sustained government efforts to curb smuggling in the oil sector.

In a major coup for F+L Week 2018, Deputy Commissioner of the Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG) at the Bureau of Customs, Edward James Dy Buco, who is the lead official for the Philippine Fuel Marking Program, has been confirmed to speak at F+L Week 2018 in Macao, on March 8, 2018. Dy Buco will deliver a much-anticipated update on the Philippine Fuel Marking Program, to provide industry representatives a more detailed understanding of the government’s plans for implementation.

This will be the first industry address by a high-level government official to be made on the Philippine Fuel Marking program.

F+L Week 2018 will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, at Cotai Strip, from 6-9 March. The event attracts an outstanding line up of industry leaders and decision-makers from the fuels, lubricants, additives and base oils industries in the U.S.A., Europe and Asia.

If you wish to learn more about the Philippines’ important new fuel marking program and the impact it could have on your organization, you may register at https://www.fuelsandlubes.com/flweek-register/

For further information on the F+L Week 2018 program visit https://www.fuelsandlubes.com/flweek-program/