The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has issued guidelines on the process for identifying and disposing of abandoned shipments.
Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina signed on July 28 Customs Memorandum Order No. 24-2015, underlining the “need to establish a clear, transparent, and effective procedure in the disposition of deemed abandoned containers.”
Under CMO 24-2015, an importation is deemed abandoned under two circumstances: when the owner, importer, or consignee of the imported article “expressly signifies in writing to the Collector of Customs his intention to abandon”; and when the cargo owner, after due notice, does not file an entry within 30 days, “which shall not be extendible, from the date of discharge of the last package from the vessel or aircraft, or having filed such entry, fails to claim his importation within 15 days, which shall likewise not be extendible, from the date of posting of the notice to claim such importation.”
The CMO said any person who abandons an article or who fails to claim his importation “shall be deemed to have renounced all his interests and property rights therein.”
Moreover, “an abandoned article shall ipso facto be deemed the property of the government and shall be disposed in accordance with the provisions of the TCCP (Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines).”
The customs district collector may, however, on the written request of the importer or consignee within the period provided by CMO 24-2015, extend the time limit for declaring the goods for valid reasons. Such reasons include failure to file an entry due to fraud, accident, mistake, excusable negligence, or force majeure; and failure to file an entry due to an alert or hold order.
An extension for goods declaration will also be granted “when there is erroneous tagging (as abandoned) of the particular shipment in the e2m (electronic-to-mobile) within the period before a shipment is deemed ‘abandoned’” or in case the importer is a government agency, instrumentality, or corporation.
Requests to extend the time for declaration of an entry, lifting of abandonment status, continuous processing of entries, un-tagging of abandonment, and other similar requests should be filed solely with the office of the deputy collector for operations within five working days from discovery of the cause. However, if the requesting party is a government agency, the extension holds until such time that the property is auctioned off. Once the shipment is sold off, however, no more requests will be entertained.
Meanwhile, under the CMO the deputy collector for operations is tasked to “resolve the request promptly with the concurrence of the district collector.”
If the request is approved, it will be forwarded to the deputy collector for operations for immediate un-tagging of the abandonment status of the shipment in the e2m, and for the filing of the entry if it has not yet been filed, or for continuous processing of the entry.
If the request is disapproved, “no abandonment proceeding is required and the subject article shall ipso facto be deemed the property of the government.” – Roumina Pablo
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