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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-9/2020-mclaren-720s-sm.webp" alt="2020 McLaren 720s" />
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(2020 McLaren 720s, price starts at US$301,500.  This is NOT the same model as the one in Customs custody.)
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For automobile aficionados, this vehicle represents the Holy Grail of all supercars. It was introduced in late 2019, essentially a road-legal version of McLaren's highly influential individuals.
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You can therefore imagine the utter shock and dismay of the agents at Customs when they found out that the importer only paid P1.5 million in taxes and duties for the vehicle.
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It turns out that the group that brought the McLaren misdeclared it, as it usually happens at Customs, and tried to pass it off as a Porsche Cayman. This prompted veteran automobile journalist Vernon Sarne to quip: "You know a car is really expensive when the owner tries to undervalue it by quoting it as a Porsche."
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To tell the truth, I am actually shocked and amazed why anybody, even the wealthiest Filipino, would want to own that car. Aren't most of the roads here in Metro Manila bottlenecks? This reminds me of when Noynoy Aquino was president. Being a sports car lover, he would drive along the Tarlac-Luisita freeway at super-speed.
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The car's market value is at least P33 million. Thus, the government should have been entitled to around P17 million, according to revenue oldtimers at Customs. That's more than a P15 million swindle! Thankfully, the BOC issued an immediate warrant of seizure. The supercar is new under the safekeeping of the BOC.
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I am sure that when news of this botched misdeclaration hit the media, many Filipino car enthusiasts began having horrid flashbacks and visions of past smuggled luxury vehicles being destroyed by giant wrecking machines. What a waste of truly rare automobiles!
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Incidentally, I am still wondering why President Duterte had these smuggled luxury cars destroyed instead of having them auctioned to raise revenues for the government. Does the President hate fancy cars that much?
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Fortunately, BOC spokesman Vincent Philip Moronilla has already gone on record to say that Customs is planning to auction off the limited-edition sports car in a bid to raise funds for the government's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Normally, President Duterte would just urge Customs to just go ahead and destroy that supercar. That would be the most definitive way to punish and disincentivize the perpetrators, and ensure that no "under the table" negotiations happen. Unfortunately, the virus has caused us to realize that we need all the money we can get our hands on.
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2020 McLaren 6201 Supercar declared as Porsche Cayman at the customs