Although the engagement of their services will eventually become optional, customs brokers will continue to process shipments in the Philippines if the current Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) electronic-to-mobile system (e2m) is not modified, a former Customs official pointed out.
Former BOC Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group deputy commissioner Atty. Agaton Teodoro Uvero said that under present circumstances, the e2m system is at odds with what the recently signed Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) prescribes.
Under the declarant provision of the CMTA, the engagement of customs brokers becomes optional two years after the law’s implementation. The law’s implementing rules and regulations are still being ironed out.
But right now, Uvero explained, the e2m comes with a “field for customs brokers.” If this field is not filled, the lodgement of entry will be disallowed.
In a recent forum on the CMTA, Uvero said unless that field is deleted in the e2m, the engagement of customs brokers for entry lodgment will continue to be a requirement, now or even two years after the CMTA is fully implemented.
No source code
And this is where it becomes tricky: The BOC does not have the source code for the e2m required to make any system modification; the agency has to contact the system developer every time a change is made.
But the developer is a foreign-based company that has cut ties with its local counterpart, making it hard to get in touch with.
Moreover, BOC remains embroiled in a case over the suspended P650-million Integrated Enhanced Customs Processing System (IECPS) and National Single Window (NSW) Phase 2 project, envisioned to replace the e2m.
The Supreme Court early this year issued a temporary restraining order against a Manila regional trial court decision that prevented the BOC and the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service from cancelling the awarding of a BOC.
READ: BOC gets reprieve with SC TRO vs Manila court decision on computerization project
The BOC bid out the IECPS and NSW Phase 2 project during the time of former customs commissioner John Sevilla. Sevilla who later resigned, was replaced by Alberto Lina, and who then cancelled the bidding on account of the projects being too expensive.
Department of Finance Assistant Secretary Denise Marie Riesa Culangin earlier admitted that “there’s really nothing we can do” with the project.
“We’ve subjected ourselves to the jurisdiction of the courts already,” Culangin in another forum said, in response to an inquiry on how BOC could implement computerization under the CMTA, with the TRO still in place.
Systems issues aside, Uvero pointed out that licensed customs brokers play a role in the supply chain, offering technical services such as determining correct tariffs or classifying commodities.
A licensed customs broker himself, Uvero said tariff specialists are still needed even for countries where customs processes are automated; in the case of the Philippines, “the specialists are customs brokers who do classification and computation.”
Uvero’s sentiments echo those of Cris John Garcia, a licensed customs broker and the import-export manager of snacks company Mondelez Philippines, Inc. Garcia earlier said the expertise of customs brokers is needed because clearing of shipments is a complicated process and requires interpretation of the law.
He added that the decision to engage the services of customs brokers will also depend on an importer’s specific needs. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of freedooom at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
