The recently issued Customs Memorandum Order 29-2015, which scraps the need for some customs forms, will mean savings of at least P15 million a month or P180 million a year for the Philippine trading community.
The CMO dated September 1 discontinues the use of the Import Entry and Internal Revenue Declaration (IEIRD) or BC Form 236 in favor of the Single Administrative Document (SAD), as well as the Supplemental Declaration on Valuation. The order likewise accepts printouts of the electronic airwaybill as support document to the SAD.
READ: PH Customs goes paperless, scraps some import forms
Bureau of Customs deputy commissioner for Assessment and Operations Atty Agaton Teodoro Uvero said the reduction will affect 50,000 transactions. “At P300 per transaction that a shipper will no longer have to pay, that’s savings of P15 million a month for the trading community,” he told PortCalls.
In an earlier release he said the BOC’s “aim is to reduce documentation and paper costs by as much as 70%. We will achieve this by doing away with expensive carbonized forms and costly airway bill forms. We will also lessen the number of documents required (for the IEIRD) from seven sets to two sets.”
He added, “You could just imagine the positive impact on costs. Zero paper use would also benefit the environment. Less trees would be sacrificed, less waste would need to be disposed.”
Image courtesy of cute image at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
