The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has released a consolidated list of all shipments requiring clearance from its Import Assessment Service (IAS) unit.
Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla said a memorandum order dated March 30 consolidates all previous outstanding memos on shipments that must be referred to IAS for clearance. The still unnumbered memorandum also supersedes the 2014 memo on motor vehicles and 2015 memos on processed meat products, yarn and fabric, steel and iron, and resins.
Under the memo, nearly all import entries covering automobiles propelled by gasoline, diesel, electricity, or any other motive power with engine displacement of 2,000 cc and above must be referred to IAS for final assessment.
Exempt are import shipments of members of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, as well as the import shipments of buses, trucks, cargo vans, jeepneys, jeepney substitutes, single cab chassis, and special-purpose vehicles.
All products under the tariff headings found in the unnumbered memorandum with values less than the threshold value shown must be referred to and cleared by IAS before final assessment. IAS will also provide value recommendations to the Formal Entry Division or its equivalent units.
Under the memo, BOC also made a classification on whether products have new values or have a new tariff heading for which there are threshold values.
Any entry which has not been released as of March 30 due to the previous memos and are at or above the threshold values in the memo can be finally assessed and released without IAS clearance.
BOC said non-compliance by any BOC official with the unnumbered memo will be punishable with dismissal on second offense.
Recently, BOC published its regulated imports list that consolidates all the lists of permits and outlines the procedures needed for the release of regulated import products. – Roumina Pablo
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