Operational control and supervision of all principal appraisers of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has been returned to the district and sub-port collectors, as ordered by Customs commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 35-2019.
The directive is “in line with the full implementation of the National Value Verification System (NVVS),” an online system launched last month.
The NVVS allows BOC officers, specifically customs examiners and principal appraisers, to ascertain the truth or accuracy of any statement, document, or declaration presented for customs valuation purpose. It is an internal system and is not for public use.
Operational control and supervision of principal appraisers was transferred to the Imports Assessment Service (IAS) last year through CMO 26-2018 to allow IAS to closely monitor and assist district collectors in collecting the correct duties and taxes, one of the agency’s mandates under the law.
Administrative supervision of principal appraisers, meanwhile, remained with the district and sub-port collectors concerned.
CMO 35-2019 states that IAS shall continue to monitor the regular updating of NVVS values and “ensure that [the system] is being implemented/utilized in all ports.”
All concerned customs examiners and appraisers are also directed to ascertain the truth or accuracy of any statement, document or declaration presented for customs valuation purposes.
“Failure to observe correct valuation and assessment of goods shall not be tolerated and shall be dealt with accordingly,” CMO 35-2019 says, adding that all inconsistent CMOs and memoranda are revoked or modified by the new order.
