GR L 19753; (July, 1969) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-19753; July 30, 1969
ANGELA LAZATIN, petitioner, vs. THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS and THE COURT OF TAX APPEALS, respondents.
FACTS
On December 18, 1955, a shipment consigned to petitioner Angela Lazatin arrived in Manila from the United States. It was declared as seven boxes of “automatic musical instruments” under Central Bank release certificate Code 890110 (“musical instruments”). Upon customs examination, the shipment was found to contain jukeboxes. The customs examiner classified them under Code 890101 (phonographs and gramophones), an item whose importation was expressly prohibited under the Statistical Classification of Commodities revised on July 1, 1955. The goods were seized for violation of Central Bank Circulars Nos. 44 and 45 in relation to the Administrative Code. They were later released upon petitioner’s posting of a bond. On April 15, 1959, the Collector of Customs ordered the goods forfeited and demanded payment of the bond, a decision affirmed by the Commissioner of Customs and the Court of Tax Appeals.
ISSUE
Whether the jukeboxes were illegally imported, justifying their forfeiture and the enforcement of the release bond.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Tax Appeals. The Court held that the importation was illegal and the forfeiture was justified. The 1955 revised Statistical Classification of Commodities, which expressly listed phonographs/gramophones (Code 890101-UI) as banned, was not published in the Official Gazette and thus could not bind the petitioner. However, the 1953 Statistical Classification of Commodities, which was published, applied. Under the 1953 list, jukeboxes were not included in any category of goods for which foreign exchange could be allocated (such as Code 890110 for “Musical instruments, n.e.s.”). Applying the principle inclusio unius est exclusio alterius, goods not listed were prohibited from importation. The Court also ruled that jukeboxes are not “musical instruments” as they are devices designed to reproduce music, not produce it. Finally, the proceedings for forfeiture are not criminal in nature; thus, the subsequent lifting of foreign exchange controls did not abate the liability incurred at the time of illegal importation.