The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has started pilot-testing the electronic transit of permits to off-dock container yards/container freight stations (CY/CFS) to comply with a five-year old memorandum as well as to propel the agency’s drive to fully automate customs processes.
The pilot test is in keeping with provisions of Customs Memorandum Order No. 43-2010, which provides procedures for implementing electronic-to-mobile (e2m) customs system-Phase 4 Transit/Transshipment at all customs ports nationwide.
CMO 43-2010 said Phase 4 aims “to provide a facility to monitor and control the movement of goods within the national border fort shipments that use a specific point of entry but will be subsequently moved to the final domestic port of destination.” It also aims “to effect smooth transition from the current manual procedures to the intended customs procedures under the e2m Customs system.”
The ruling covers transit shipments handled by members of the Association of Off-Dock Container Yard Operators of the Philippines (ACOP) but not those destined for Philippine Economic Zone Authority or freeports/special economic zones.
The pilot test involves off-dock operator Transorient Container Terminal Services at the Manila International Container Port.
ACOP president Alexander Ong, who also owns Transorient Container Terminal, told PortCalls in a phone interview that member operators approve of the automation as it promotes transparency.
Transorient’s Tess Javier, in a phone interview with PortCalls, also said the procedure facilitates transactions plus eliminates the use of the paper permit. Under current procedures, the permit has to be printed and delivered to the customs official assigned to the warehouse, among others, Javier said. The procedure usually takes a day, she added.
Transorient was the subject of the pilot test because it was the first operator to provide a computer for customs personnel at its warehouse, a requirement under the system, Javier said.
She noted they have been experiencing errors during the trial run but that these are just birth pains.
Discussions with BOC’s Management Information System and Technology as well as BOC-accredited value-added service providers were held prior to the pilot test. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
