The processing of renewal of customs brokers’ accreditation and activation of the Client Profile Registration System (CPRS) for entities accredited by other government agencies must be completed within 24 hours of receipt of complete documents, Customs commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero ordered in a new memo.
The Customs chief said the order, issued on May 22, complies with Republic Act No. 11032 (Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018) and supports BOC’s mission to facilitate trade.
The order was addressed to district collectors, the deputy commissioner of Intelligence Group, and chief of the Account Management Office (AMO), which handles the accreditation of importers and registration of customs brokers.
Guerrero reminded customs officials that Section 5 of Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 19-2019 states that “BOC personnel delaying the processing of applications for accreditation or renewal of registration without justifiable reasons shall be dealt with accordingly pursuant to existing Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, and other related laws.”
CMO 19-2019 provides guidelines on the renewal of accreditation of customs brokers and the CPRS activation of entities accredited by other government agencies. These functions were transferred last April from AMO to the district collectors.
Under CMO 19-2019, customs brokers must file an application for renewal of their registration and submit the required documents. Application for renewal of customs brokers’ registration shall be filed with the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service at the collection district nearest the customs broker’s place of business. The application will be either approved or denied by the district collector.
If the application is approved, the AMO head office shall immediately activate the customs broker’s CPRS profile upon receiving the endorsement of the district collector.
Activation of the CPRS of entities accredited by other government agencies shall be done by the district collector only after receiving the endorsement with attached requirements sent by the concerned government agency.
The endorsement may be sent either through the government’s agency official email or official messenger, or a secured courier.
Last February, Guerrero said BOC would continue to streamline accreditation procedures of AMO, partly by reverting applications for renewal of accreditation of customs brokers, as well as CPRS activation, to the district collection offices.
He noted that the goal of the decentralization is “to process the renewal and activation of accreditation in one day.”
He added the plan is to have only the application of importers and consignees pass through the Office of the Commissioner for approval. – Roumina Pablo
