The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has repealed a 2010 directive that requires the presence of Customs personnel during the stuffing of export shipments.
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 04-2015, dated January 21 and signed Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla, repealed Section 16.B.1.1. of CMO 22-2010, or the Revised Customs Operations Manual (RCOM), which required an exporter to file a notice of stuffing (NOS) before loading export cargoes into a container, and for a stuffing inspector must be present during the procedure.
Based on the CMO, the authority to load issued by the BOC’s Export Division (ED) “shall be sufficient basis for an export container to be loaded.”
During a Jan 20 forum organized by the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau, Sevilla had already announced a return to the status quo against the 2010 directive that was implemented only early this year. The forum was attended by representatives from BOC-Manila International Container Port (MICP) and exporters.
Under CMO 04-2015, for the smooth implementation of the RCOM’s Sec. 16.B.1.4, or the instructions for loading of containerized export cargoes, the ED should provide the Customs Container Control Division (CCCD), the office that would have implemented the stuffing directive, with a running list of all containers issued an authority to load.
BOC noted that the loading Inspector will be responsible for making sure no containers without authority to load are loaded onto a vessel.
The ED will also ensure that an “Authority to Load is issued for the containers forming part of an export declaration only after compliance with all requirements for the issuance of such an Authority to Load, including the requirement to subject any containers or entries which are tagged ‘red’ by the Risk Management Office, and any containers or entries which are the subject of an alert order, to either x-ray or physical inspection, and even then, only if there are no derogatory findings after such inspection.”
BOC will also not require that export entries be filed before containers enter any port. However, no cargo–whether in containers or not–can be loaded onto a vessel without an authority to load.
The order likewise revised Section 38.1 (a) (3) of the RCOM. For withdrawal of shut-out containerized cargoes, a copy of an export declaration/permit/inquiry is no longer required. Instead, either of the following is necessary:
- A copy of the pre-advance notice issued by the shipping line to the port operator showing the date of booking and container numbers for relevant containers.
- A certification from the port operator showing the date the container arrived and certifying that the container arrived from within the Philippine customs territory and not from abroad or as a transhipment from another port.
The implementation of the 2010 directive drew opposition from exporters as they foresaw numerous problems and additional costs arising from the order, with the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry asking for the status quo. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of ddpavumba at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
