In a related development, members of the Professional Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PCBAPI) held two separate mass actions before the BOC and the Department of Finance (DOF) over the weekend to express their disapproval of CAO 3-2006-A.
"The new provisions are illegal and violate the law whose only intent and purpose is to professionalize the customs broker profession," PCBAPI chairman Honorato Colico said.
He added that the law is clear in its provision that "no firm, company, or association may be registered or licensed as such for the practice of customs broker profession and no person shall practice or offer to practice the profession, or use the title unless one is a registered licensed customs broker".
The new provisions allow customs brokerage corporations and freight forwarding firms to lodge customs entries and/or use their employee-customs representatives to transact business at the BOC.
Colico said the group is set to conduct more mass actions if the BOC and DOF do not correct the provisions.
