THE release of revised rules on warehousing will be delayed yet again pending resolution of technology and database issues.
“We are still talking to the private sector. We are planning to come out with a single consolidated regulation with search engines for better efficiency and transparency,” Customs deputy commissioner Reynaldo Nicolas said in an interview.
In addition, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is awaiting Phase II accreditation of its value-added service providers (VASPs) before implementing the new warehousing rules.
The filing of warehousing entries via the BOC-accredited VASPs is part of Phase III of the VASP electronic-to-mobile system.Based on the BOC schedule, this facility should be live in four to five weeks.
The BOC is revising both warehousing rules and the guidelines for Customs Bonded Warehouses (CBWs). The former, the bureau said, is obsolete and not at par with international standards (current warehousing rates are still based on standards promulgated in 1991) while the latter needs more stringent measures to ensure CBWs are not used in smuggling activities.
“Rates play a vital role in the competitiveness of Philippine products on the global market that is why we will concentrate more on how to benchmark these to world standards,” Nicolas said.
Delayed for almost two years now, the release of the revised warehousing rules was originally expected by the second quarter of the year.
