THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) has suspended and fined a motor vehicle dealer in Taguig City after an investigation that uncovered serious violations of agency regulations, its top official said on Wednesday.
Citing an investigation, LTO chief Markus Lacanilao said the Leading Edge Automobiles Philippines Inc.-BGC (Bonifacio Global City) branch allowed its Mandaluyong branch, which lacks its own LTO accreditation, to sell 19 vehicles using the BGC branch’s accreditation.
The BGC branch issued sales invoices and processed the sales reports and registration documents for all 19 vehicles, LTO said.
LTO records reflected that these transactions were conducted under LEAP-BGC’s accreditation, effectively masking the unauthorized participation of the unaccredited Mandaluyong branch, Lacanilao said, adding that the probe further uncovered discrepancies in the reported sales dates of 13 of the 19 vehicles.
The dates submitted to the LTO did not match the actual sale dates indicated in the corresponding invoices, a clear violation of the agency’s reporting requirements, the LTO head said.
The agency said administrative fines imposed on LEAP-BGC amounted to a significant sum, calculated under its graduated penalty schedule.
Under the framework, it said that serious offenses carry a penalty of P500,000 per transaction, while less serious offenses are penalized at P100,000 per transaction.
The violations committed by LEAP-BGC include allowing the unaccredited LEAP Mandaluyong branch to sell 19 vehicles using its accreditation; issuing sales invoices and processing sales reports and registrations for those vehicles; and misreporting the sales dates of 13 vehicles, the LTO said.
“We will not allow accredited dealers to be used as fronts for unauthorized transactions. Our rules are applied equally to everyone, and anyone who attempts to circumvent or evade them will be held accountable,” Lacanilao said.
The top LTO official made it clear that the agency would not tolerate the use of accredited dealers as fronts for unauthorized transactions.
“The rules apply equally to all, and anyone who attempts to circumvent or evade them will be held fully accountable,” he vowed.
Lacanilao stressed the integrity of the motor vehicle registration system rests on accurate and truthful records.
He said that the suspension and hefty fines would serve as a stern warning to all other accredited dealers nationwide.
