While no specific target date has been set for implementation of the mandatory submission of electronic air manifest (e-manifest) through value-added service providers (VASPs), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the policy will likely take place sometime in the next two months.
In a text message to PortCalls, Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla said there is “no exact date yet, but (it will) probably (be) sometime between November and December.”
The BOC Management Information System and Technology Group (MISTG) released on September 1 the latest draft on the guidelines for submitting the electronic air manifest from airlines, airfreight forwarders, de-consolidators and air express operators through VASPs, following several public hearings to further polish its provisions.
Earlier, MISTG chief of technical support Nomie Gonzales, in a forum held by the Aircargo Forwarders of the Philippines, Inc. (AFPI), said the plan was to incorporate the mandatory submission of electronic air manifest through a VASP into BOC’s electronic-to-mobile (e2m) system in November.
In a separate email to PortCalls, Gonzales said, “The implementation date is not yet final since the CMO (Customs memorandum order) is still for revision.”
During the AFPI forum, airfreight forwarders requested BOC to implement the project in January 2015, fearful that the heavy cargo volume during the current peak season could clog up the new untested system.
AFPI president Maria Antoinette Reyes said the organization is also pushing for a flat rate of P10,000 as penalty for late submissions, instead of the proposed escalating fee that could go as high as P30,000 per violation.
Under the latest draft, late submissions of electronic inward foreign manifest (e-IFM) and electronic consolidated cargo manifest (e-CCM) face penalties of P10,000 on first offense, P20,000 on second offense, and P30,000 on third and subsequent offenses and for noncompliance.
Offenses for late submissions of both manifests will be counted on a monthly basis against the yearly basis proposed earlier.
Hard copies of the supplemental e-IFM—which is considered a late submission—must be submitted within four hours of aircraft arrival.
Airfreight forwarders are also asking BOC to allow late entries that did not beat the 5 p.m. deadline to be lodged the next day.
Another concern is the time of submission of the e-manifest coming from ports of origin in Asia, which in the latest draft memorandum, is an hour before aircraft arrival from other ports.
The final draft of the electronic manifest incorporating suggestions from several hearings will be presented to stakeholders before its implementation. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
