The activation fee required to become an accredited Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) locator should be collected on a per profile basis, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) clarified.
Atty. Agaton Teodoro Uvero, Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG) deputy commissioner, explained that since BOC maintains a separate client profile registration for each function of an entity or company, the activation fee to be collected from PEZA locators should be on a per profile basis.
This means one activation fee for their profile as an importer and another fee for their profile as an exporter.
Under Customs Memorandum No. 14-2015, all PEZA locators that are registered and approved by PEZA through the Client Profile Registration System (CPRS)–Electronic-to-Mobile (E2M) should have their accreditation activated immediately by BOC’s Management Information System and Technology Group after they pay an activation fee of P1,000 at the BOC Cash Division and present the official receipt and a copy of the CPRS Certificate of Registration.
CMO 14-2015, signed by Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina on May 29, no longer imposes additional requirements for accrediting all corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, or sole proprietorships registered as PEZA locators.
BOC said the regulation promotes an “effective and efficient customs management by streamlining and simplifying the customs accreditation procedure for PEZA locators thereby creating a more business and investor-friendly environment”.
The customs agency said it also considers the documentary requirements and eligibility of locators as already having been evaluated and passed upon by PEZA, which is the primary regulating agency of locators within its special economic zones.
PEZA locators are already exempt from the need to seek accreditation with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
Under accreditation rules issued in February 2014 by the Department of Finance, mother agency of the BOC and BIR, all importers and customs brokers must undergo a two-tiered accreditation, first with the BIR then with the BOC, so they can transact with customs. But last year, the DOF exempted PEZA locators from the BIR accreditation policy. – Roumina Pablo
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