The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) has released guidelines and identified functions of offices that renew the accreditation of customs brokers and activate the Client Profile Registration System (CPRS) of entities accredited by other government agencies.
The renewal of customs brokers’ accreditation and activation of the CPRS are tasks that were recently transferred from the BOC’s Account Management Office (AMO) to the district collectors.
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 19-2019, signed on April 30 and which took effect immediately, follows a memorandum dated April 4 and signed April 12 by Customs commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero that decentralizes these processes from the AMO to the district collectors. The decentralization is pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
Under CMO 19-2019, customs brokers shall file an application for renewal of registration and submit the required documents. These requirements include, among others, an updated professional profile, clear photocopy of valid Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) identification card, updated list of clients with complete address and contact details, and a certificate of good standing from the PRC-accredited national organization of customs brokers.
The application for renewal of customs broker’s registration shall be filed with the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service at the collection district nearest the customs broker’s place of business. The application will be reviewed by the district collector for approval or denial.
If the application is approved, the AMO head office shall immediately activate the customs broker’s CPRS profile upon receiving the endorsement of the district collector.
For the registration of importers and exporters accredited by other government agencies, entities, or offices, the requirements will depend on the sector: for airlines, Civil Aeronautics Board email notification; for shipping lines, letter of endorsement from shipping agent, Maritime Industry Authority accreditation and valid permit to operate; for exporters registered with investment promotion agencies (e.g. Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority) or Board of Investments and Export Marketing Bureau, email notification from concerned agencies; for other exporters, emailed notification from the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc.; for customs bonded warehouse operators, license to operate issued by BOC and endorsement from the deputy commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group; and for other importers, BOC official receipt and CPRS notification from PEZA.
Activation of CPRS of entities accredited by other government agencies shall be done by the district collector only after receiving the endorsement with attached requirements sent by the concerned government agency. The endorsement may be sent either through the government’s agency official email or official messenger, or a secured courier.
Under CMO 19-2019, BOC personnel delaying the processing of applications for accreditation or renewal of registration without justifiable reasons shall be dealt with accordingly, pursuant to the existing Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, and other related laws.
Last February, Guerrero said BOC will continue to streamline the accreditation procedures of its AMO, the office which handles the accreditation of importers and registration of customs brokers, partly by reverting the applications for renewal of accreditation of customs brokers, as well as CPRS activation, to the district collection offices.
He noted that the goal of the decentralization is “to process the renewal and activation of accreditation in one day.”
He added that the plan is to have only the application of importers and consignees pass through the Office of the Commissioner for approval. – Roumina Pablo
