BOC clears up process for securing authority to load for export boxes

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2001

ID-100259836The Bureau of Customs (BOC) clarified that shippers do not need to forward all export declarations for export containers to the Customs Container Control Division (CCCD) to be received and recorded before they can pay arrastre charges.

Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla made the clarification through a memorandum dated February 12 following requests from exporters for the proper implementation of Customs Memorandum Order No. (CMO) 04-2015.

Once issued with the authority to load (ATL) by the Export Division (ED), exporters or their authorized representatives may already proceed to the Billing Division of the arrastre operators to settle the charges, Sevilla said.

While the ED should still furnish CCCD true copies of the export declarations, this should be done so only for the latter to refer to when ensuring that only containers with ATL are loaded onto the vessel.

Issued January 21 this year, CMO 04-2015 repealed Section 16.B.1.1. of CMO 22-2010, or the Revised Customs Operations Manual (RCOM). The RCOM had required an exporter to file a Notice of Stuffing before loading export cargoes into a container in the presence of a stuffing inspector.

The repeal came a day after a BOC forum with exporters regarding the implementation of Section 16.B in January, five years after the RCOM had been issued.

Exporters requested for a status quo on the implementation of the 2010 directive, saying they foresee numerous problems and additional costs arising from the order.

Under CMO 04-2015, BOC pointed out that the ATL issued by the ED “shall be sufficient basis for an export container to be loaded.”

In order to facilitate the smooth implementation of the RCOM’s Sec. 16.B.1.4, or the instructions for loading of containerized export cargoes, BOC said ED should provide the CCCD, which was earlier supposed to be the office to implement the stuffing directive, with a running list of all containers it issued with an ATL.

The ED should also ensure that an ATL is issued only after exporters have complied with all the requirements, including subjecting any export containers or entries tagged “red” by the Risk Management Office, or are the subject of an alert order, to either x-ray or physical inspection. Moreover, there should be no derogatory findings after such inspection.

During the January forum, exporters agreed to the suggestion of Sevilla for export containers to be inspected only once they are already at the port, instead of during the stuffing. This means not all containers will be inspected, as they would have been under the directive of RCOM Sec. 16.B.1.1.

BOC will also not require export entries to be filed before containers enter any port. However, no cargo—whether in containers or not—can be loaded onto a vessel without an ATL.

Moreover, CMO 04-2015 revised Section 38.1 (a) (3) of the RCOM. For withdrawal of shut-out containerized cargoes, a copy of an export declaration, permit, or inquiry is no longer required. Instead, either of these is required:

  • A copy of the pre-advance notice issued by the shipping line to the port operator showing the date of booking and container number(s) for the relevant container(s).
  • A certification from the port operator showing the date the container arrived and certifying it arrived from within the Philippine customs territory and not from abroad or in the form of a transhipment from another port. – Roumina Pablo

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