The Philippine Customs commissioner is now the sole authority authorized to approve and disapprove the accreditation of importers and customs brokers under a new Customs order dated January 11 and effective immediately.
The order is designed to eradicate consignees-for-hire and fly-by-night importers and brokers, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said in a statement.
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 02-2018 states that the “accreditation of importers and customs brokers shall be approved or disapproved by the Commissioner of Customs upon recommendation of the chief, AMO (Account Management Office). Importers and customs brokers with disapproved accreditation may file a request for consideration to the chief, AMO who shall make the necessary disposition for consideration of the Customs commissioner, which shall be final and executory.”
The order added, “Any recommendation for suspension, revocation or cancellation, including a recommendation for activation of previous registration after a previous decision to suspend, revoke or cancel, shall be subject to approval of the Commissioner.”
“We will check the validity of the documents submitted by the importers and brokers to ensure that only legitimate traders are transacting with the bureau,” Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña said.
CMO 02-2018 amends certain provisions of CMO 04-2014, which provides policies, guidelines, and procedures for the accreditation of importers and customs brokers.
Under CMO 04-2014, the AMO chief had the power to approve the accreditation while the deputy commissioner of the Revenue Collection Monitoring Group (RCMG) was in charge of the suspension, revocation, and cancellation of accreditation.
“Further the delegated authority to suspend and/or cancel the customs accreditation of importers and brokers under Customs Special Order No. 16-2017 dated February 2017 is revoked,” CMO 02-2018 said.
Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. president Atty. Ferdinand Nague told PortCalls he has no issue with the new ruling as long as it does not prolong the clearance process. Right now the processing of applications with AMO is already faster than in previous times.
Importers and customs brokers wanting to transact with the BOC require an accreditation from the AMO to finish a two-second accreditation process. The first step involves securing a clearance certificate from BOC’s sister agency, Bureau of Internal Revenue.
As of December 2017, 14,795 importers and 1,888 customs brokers are actively transacting with the bureau. In 2017 alone, 204 importers and 94 customs brokers were suspended after violating various customs and tariff laws. – Roumina Pablo
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