TO simplify the process of securing permits and clearances for the entry and withdrawal of domestic and foreign cargoes, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) now requires only two documents – the bill of lading and cargo-handling operator official receipt.
The port regulator/operator also requires only one document – shipping line lane meter official receipt –for the entry of roll-on/roll-off cargoes under the Road Ro-Ro Terminal System (RRTS) and none for cargo withdrawals.
PPA Memorandum Circular 14-2013 dated Dec. 13, 2013, entitled “Documentation and Procedures in the Entry/Withdrawal of Cargoes at Government Ports,” reiterates the pertinent provisions of a 1977 PPA administrative order calling for simplified and faster transactions at public ports.
For a copy of PPA MC 14-2013, go to http://www.scribd.com/doc/195756689/Philippine-Ports-Authority-Memorandum-Circular-014-2013.
The simplified procedure for the entry of foreign and domestic cargoes entails eight steps. The withdrawal procedure for domestic cargoes entails four steps; that for foreign cargoes requires five. Three steps are needed to bring cargoes into domestic ports under the RRTS, and only one for withdrawal.
The PPA has also implemented the Billing and Collection System as a module of its Port Operations Management System to eliminate manual preparation of computation sheets for wharfage collections and to allow automatic generation of PPA official receipts.
The agency is also promoting the Port Integrated Clearance Office in PPA ports, where regulatory agencies and business entities are housed in one site for convenience in transactions.
The regulator also implemented a cash revolving fund to allow regular transacting entities to deposit with PPA where wharfage can be deducted from without the hassle of manual billing and procedures.
To ensure compliance, all PPA ports are ordered to submit an initial report of problems, if there are any, two weeks after the memorandum has taken effect.
Meanwhile, PPA Memorandum Circular 11-2013 dated Dec. 10, 2013, reiterates the simplified requirements for vessel entrance and departure clearances prescribed under PPA MC 13-2002, entitled “Reduction of Documentary Requirements for Arrival and Departure Clearance for Domestic and Foreign Vessels.
For a copy of PPA MC 11-2013, go to http://www.scribd.com/doc/195753095/MC-011-2013-1.
Documentary requirements remained as what is prescribed under MC 13-2002, “in consideration that the same are already the barest minimum requirements,” the memorandum noted.
Under MC 11-2013, domestic vessels need to submit five documents for arrival clearance and four documents for departure clearance, while foreign vessels must submit four for arrival and three for departure. ––Roumina M. Pablo
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
