The Bureau of Customs (BOC) expects to earn about P1 billion from the auction of overstaying cargo at various ports in the country.
At the Manila International Container Terminal alone, an estimated P462.2 million is expected to be raised from the auction of 1,542 idle containers. At the Port of Manila, the auction can translate to P300 million in revenue, and at the Port of Subic, P150 million.
“Importers and brokers need to stop using our ports as warehouses,” Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina said in a statement.
BOC explained that overstaying cargoes are shipments either seized or abandoned. Seized cargoes have been issued an alert order and consequently have a warrant of seizure and detention for violation of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, such as through misdeclaration or undervaluation.
An abandoned cargo, on the other hand, has been expressly given up by the consignee through a formal letter of abandonment to the Customs collector who has jurisdiction over the cargo.
As for cargoes that have been implicitly abandoned, BOC said this occurs when the owner, importer, consignee, or interested party fails to file after due notice an entry within 30 days from the date of discharge of the last package from the vessel or aircraft. Or, after having filed such an entry, the consignee fails to claim his importation within 15 days of posting the notice to claim such importation.
“Port fees such as demurrage, wharfage and storage fees are usually waived by the arrastre operator and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) when the container or cargo, either forfeited or abandoned, is subject for disposal by the BOC. So, everything is done at no cost to the government,” Lina pointed out.
Last January, BOC issued Customs Memorandum Order No. 02-2016 directing all customs officials to get rid of overstaying cargoes at all ports across the country by March 31, 2016 as part of the agency’s bid to decongest the terminals.
READ: PH Customs moves to clear all ports of overstaying boxes by end-Mar
From January to April 25, 2016, the BOC Auction Monitoring Unit recorded P345.62 million in auction sales from six ports. For 2015, BOC generated P996.323 million, with the Manila International Container Port accounting for P468.454 million, Port of Batangas for P107.885 million, and Port of Cagayan de Oro for P104.927 million.
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