THE advance inward foreign manifest (e-IFM) for airlines will likely undergo changes following continued opposition from air express operators in the Philippines.
A team formed by Philippine Customs commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon to restudy the policy is recommending further discussions with stakeholders.
Biazon said he is open to changing the policy’s “timelines” but will “wait for the final recommendation of the team. In the meantime, what is being implemented right now stays.”
The e-IFM has been on soft implementation in the last four months with no penalties on non-users.
The Philippine Chamber of Air Express Operators which comprises, among others, Federal Express, TNT Express Worldwide, and United Parcel Service expressed reservations on the e-IFM, claiming it will severely impact their operations.
The chamber wants to retain the practice of pre-clearing cargoes even prior to submission of pertinent documents to the Bureau of Customs, which the e-IFM will disallow.
Under the present policy, the deadline for submission of the e-IFM is two hours before aircraft arrival in the Philippines for all flights originating in Asia. For flights with less than two hours’ flying time, the deadline is one hour prior to arrival.
For flights originating in North or South America as well as in locations other than Asia, North and South America, the deadline is four hours.
For consolidated cargo manifest, flights originating within Asia require submission of at least an hour before aircraft arrival and flights originating in North or South America, two hours prior.
For other origins outside the identified locations, the deadline is two hours before aircraft arrival.
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