The Bureau of Customs (BOC) reminded Super Green Lane (SGL) member companies to pay their duties and taxes immediately after receiving the final assessment notice, as mandated under existing Customs rules.
The reminder came as BOC, in a memo dated March 15, said it has noticed that SGL member companies “are delaying the payment of duties and taxes due the government invoking the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) provision on abandonment, specifically Section 1129 (Abandonment, Kinds and Effects of).”
“Applying the provision on abandonment as the period in making payment is misplaced. Said provision governs abandonment of cargoes and should be treated and interpreted separately from lodgement and payment of duties and taxes,” the memorandum pointed out.
It noted that the processing of SGL importation is explicitly and categorically outlined in Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 28-2003 (Revised SGL Accreditation and Clearance Procedure), which has not been amended or repealed and thus is still fully in effect.
Under CMO 28-2003, the SGL user shall pay duties and taxes with the authorized agent bank on receiving the BOC-Automated Customs Operations System final assessment notice.
The March 14 memorandum further states that BOC “has the authority to suspend, cancel, or revoke an SGL member company’s certificate of accreditation as stated in Paragraph 8 of CMO 28-2003.” It also directs all ports to submit the names of SGL member companies that are delaying payment of duties and taxes.
The SGL is a special facility established by BOC to comply with the Revised Kyoto Convention, the treaty that the Philippines has been a signatory to since February 2010. The agreement mandates contracting parties to provide special procedures for authorized persons who have passed certain criteria specified by customs. These criteria include a record of compliance with customs requirements and a satisfactory system for managing commercial records.
Accredited members, consisting of multinational companies and members of the top 1000 corporations, are accorded the privilege of advance processing and clearance of shipments.
