The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is set to issue 22 more customs administrative orders (CAOs) implementing sections of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
Of the 22 CAOs, 10 are already under review by the Department of Finance (DOF), nine have been reverted to BOC for revision, and three CAOs are left with BOC to be transmitted to DOF for review and approval, assistant commissioner and spokesperson Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla said in a presentation during a Lower House Committee on Ways and Means briefing on November 27.
The 22 CAO will be in addition to the 26 CAOs that have been signed and issued since 2016, for a total of 48 CAOs.
Of the 26 issued CAOs, nine were signed from 2016 to 2018, and 17 signed this year. Of the 17, 15 are already available on BOC’s website; the remaining two are CAOs for the government’s right of compulsory acquisition, and rules on abandonment: kinds, effects and treatment.
For customs memorandum orders (CMO), which implement CAOs, four have been signed, six are pending and for signature, and 10 are for review by BOC’s Project Management Office (PMO).
Republic Act No. 10886, also known as the CMTA, updates and aligns the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines with international standards and overhauls and harmonizes BOC’s operations.
BOC Revenue Collection Monitoring Group deputy commissioner Atty. Vener Baquiran explained that only 40 CAOs were initially programmed for issuance, but the bureau, upon review of the law, discovered more sections that needed implementing guidelines as they are not self-executory.
He said the target is to finish all pending CAOs within the year while all corresponding CMOs will be issued next year.
Of the 10 CAOs under DOF review, eight have undergone roundtable discussions and are now for DOF clearance, including vessel and aircraft supervision and control system, fines and surcharges for clerical errors, misdeclaration, misclassification, and under-invoicing and underdeclaration of value.
Of the nine CAOs reverted to BOC for review, seven are for final review. The CAOs on the accreditation and regulation of service providers and customs service fees are being reviewed, while the CAO on forfeiture fund is still being drafted.
For the CMOs, the rules and regulations to implement CAO 04-2010 establishing an enhanced customs transit system or i-track, and duty drawback, refund and abatement are pending review.
Still being drafted are the CMOs on cargo monitoring system for international airports, accreditation of shipping lines, clearance formalities of onboard courier luggage, and grounds for suspension of consignees and customs brokers accreditation.
Of the 10 CMOs being reviewed by the PMO, four are for final review including goods declaration verification system, guidelines on implementation of the Registered Exporters System, case operations plan of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, and informal entry of commercial goods under the electronic-to-mobile system.
The CMO on provisional goods declaration is subject for public consultation, while the CMO on the request turnover of seized firearms, magazines and ammunitions is currently being drafted. Currently being reviewed is the CMO for the container control unit.
Meanwhile, BOC is proposing the amendment of several sections of the CMTA, including those covering dispute settlement and protest, de minimis, compulsory acquisition/forfeiture fund, restricted goods, temporary storage of goods, informal entry, bonded warehouse, abandonment, disposition of goods, control over customs bonded warehouse/customs facilities, goods declaration and period of filing, and supervision of third parties, among others.
The Lower House Committee on Ways and Means has scheduled on December 3 a hearing on bills filed to amend certain sections of the CMTA. – Roumina Pablo