Approval of R.A.
9280 IRR within the week, says CCBI
THE implementing rules and regulations
(IRR) of Republic Act 9280 or the Customs Brokers
Act of 2004 is certain to come out not later than
this week, according to the Chamber of Customs
Brokers, Inc. (CCBI).
In an interview at the sidelines
of the recently concluded CCBI general membership
meeting at the Manila Hotel, CCBI president Diosdado
Santiago said the final IRR only lacks the signature
of the Philippine Regulatory Commission's (PRC)
higher officials. It has already been signed by
Customs Commissioner George Jereos, IRR committee
members Constantino Calica, Anthony Cristobal,
and Rodolfo Salazar, and Santiago.
"Edgardo Abon, another committee
member, is out of the country so he has not signed
yet," he noted.
Santiago said PRC chair Alcestis
Guiang assured customs brokers the draft, which
has undergone 11 revisions in just eight months
since the law's enactment in March, is fit for
approval.
During the CCBI membership meeting,
where more than 900 brokers were present, a petition
was circulated to push for the law's immediate
implementation. The petition will be submitted
to CCBI which will present it to PRC in a meeting
scheduled this week.
The IRR approval has been held back
by issues raised by other port stakeholders, particularly
the forwarding industry.
"Holding the IRR hostage hurts
the entire profession. We already have a law,
but without the IRR it is useless," said
Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo, principal author of
the law at the House of Representatives.
The most debated issue has been
the prohibition on corporate practice, with forwarders
arguing this would result in massive unemployment
as existing corporations would have to close down.
Brokers, on the other hand, say
the new law will in fact generate more employment
because customs brokers will eventually be the
employer themselves who will hire customs representatives
or "personeros" to represent them at
the BOC.
Also, in response to claims that
Section 6 of the law (Scope of Practice of Customs
Brokers) will allow for encroachment on other
professions, the CCBI has decided to include a
provision limiting the scope, Santiago said. In
the final IRR, Section 6 states it should "not
be construed to affect or prevent the practice
of any other lawfully recognized and regulated
profession."
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New port security gadgets in
place by Q1
THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) expects
additional security equipment in the country's
major gateways to be in place by the first quarter
of 2005 to achieve full compliance with the International
Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.
PPA port police chief Loving Fetalvero said the
port agency has opened bidding for the installation,
testing and commissioning of 24 units of baggage
x-ray scanners worth P144 million; 24 units of
walk through detectors worth P36 million; and
69 units of handheld metal detectors worth P0.69
million.
PPA was given a P200-million budget to acquire
all the necessary equipment and construct facilities
to comply with the ISPS Code.
Fetalvero said the acquisition of security devices
follows an earlier agreement among member economies
of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC).
He said the APEC countries have agreed that starting
2005, all major international ports within each
country should have installed the needed security
equipment to ensure smooth flow of trade in the
region.
The PPA will install the equipment in 17 strategic
ports, which handle more than 80% of the country's
cargo traffic. They are Manila, Batangas, Iloilo,
General Santos, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Davao,
Dumaguete, Pulupandan, Tacloban in Leyte, Iligan,
Tagbilaran, Cotabato, Ozamis, Calapan, San Fernando
in La Union, and Surigao.
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MICT hits 1M TEUs for 3rd consecutive
year
INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL SERVICES, INC.
(ICTSI) recently serviced its one-millionth TEU
(twenty-foot equivalent unit) for the year at
the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT),
ICTSI's flagship operation.
This is the third time that the MICT hit its
annual one million mark. The first time was on
December 18, 2002, and the second one on December
4, 2003. The earlier dates by which the one-millionth
TEU arrives clearly shows steady container traffic
growth at the MICT, the country's only container
dedicated terminal.
"The MICT is the only terminal at the Port
of Manila that can facilitate this level of container
traffic while adhering to international standards
of productivity. The terminal has the capacity
to service 1.5 million TEUs. Equally as important
as the volumes we handle are the efficiency and
speed by with which we move containers.
"For this year, we have maintained productivity
levels that are the highest in the country and
one of the highest in Asia at 33 moves per hour
per crane," said Francis Andrews, ICTSI senior
vice president and MICT general manager.
This year's one-millionth container is a 40-foot
container from NYK Logistics and Megacarrier's
1,350-TEU capacity MV ACX Magnolia. Docked at
Berth 5 of the MICT, a total of 577 TEUs were
serviced, 277 TEUs of which were discharged and
300 TEUs were loaded. Arriving from Singapore,
ACX Magnolia's next destination was Osaka, Japan.
The ACX Magnolia is one of four new NYK vessels
chartered for the Southern Cross Service (SCS),
a midweek direct service to Taiwan and Japan.
The SCS and another service, the ITX, were deployed
by NYK to respond to increasing intra-Asian trade.
The two services brings to a total of five the
number of NYK services calling at the MICT.
ICTSI is widely acknowledged to be a leading
developer in international container terminal
operations, specializing in container terminals
in the 50,000 TEU to 1.5 million TEU range.
For the third consecutive year,
the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT),
International Container Terminal Services, Inc.'s
(ICTSI) flagship operation and the Philippines'
only container dedicated terminal, serviced its
one millionth TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit)
for the year. Arriving a month earlier than the
millionth TEU in 2003, this year's millionth TEU
is a 40-foot container from NYK Logistics and
Megacarrier's 1,350-TEU capacity MV ACX Magnolia.
Arriving from Singapore, the vessel's next destination
was Osaka, Japan. Witnessing the event were (left
to right): Francis Andrews, ICTSI senior vice
president and MICT general manager; Daniel Ventanilla
Jr., NYK-FilJapan general manager for operations,
sales and marketing; Hidetake Matsuoka, NYK-FilJapan
manager for Japanese accounts; Akira Hosoya, TSK
Line managing director; Capt. Reynaldo C. Cruz,
ACX Magnolia vessel master; Eduardo Garcesa, ACX
Magnolia chief officer; Kazuo Ishii, NYK FilJapan
vice chairman and NYK representative; and Felipe
Pacheco, ICTSI terminal manager.
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BIR: Goods outside
ecozone taxable
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR) reiterated only items sold and used within
the Subic Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) are exempt
from paying the value-added-tax (VAT).
In a recent filing with the Supreme
Court, the bureau stressed the preferential tax
treatment for income derived from transactions
involving consumption or use of goods within the
SSEZ does not apply when these goods are brought
outside the ecozone.
"Where the goods or materials
are removed from SSEZ for domestic use or consumption,
the income derived from the transactions should
necessarily be subject to regular taxes,"
BIR commented in its 24-page petition with the
court.
The filing was in response to petitions
filed by SSEZ-based Asia International Auctioneers
Inc. and Subic Bay Motors Corp.'s with the Supreme
Court to stop the BIR from imposing VAT and excise
taxes on businesses conducted within the ecozone.
In a September 27 filing, the two
companies, which are engaged in the import and
public auction of motor vehicles and heavy transportation
or construction equipment, asked the court to
stop the BIR from enforcing the warrant of garnishments
issued against them.
Warrants of garnishments have been
issued to banks, allowing the BIR to seize cash
and other properties of the companies these banks
may be in possession of in order to cover the
tax obligation.
The two companies argued Republic
Act 7227 barred the BIR from collecting VAT. However,
the BIR insisted VAT and excise taxes may be imposed
on the sale through auction or negotiation of
imported vehicles removed from SSEZ.
According to Section 12 of the Republic
Act, "exportation or removal of goods from
the territory of the Subic Special Economic Zone
to other parts of the Philippine territory shall
be subject to customs duties and taxes under the
Customs and Tariff Code and other relevant tax
laws of the Philippines."
Both companies stressed the assessment of VAT
and excise tax is a clear violation of the rights
and privileges given to companies inside the SSEZ.
RA 7227 states that businesses and enterprises
within the SSEZ to only pay taxes equivalent to
5% of gross income earned.
BIR commissioner Guillermo L. Parayno,
Jr. issued a circular entitled "Revised Uniform
Guidelines on the Imposition of Value Added Tax
on the Sale Through Public Auction/Negotiated
Sale of Motor Vehicles Imported Through the Subic
Freeport Zone" enabling the agency to collect
VAT, percentage tax and excise tax on vehicles
sold at the SSEZ.
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ICC approves BOC
Container Inspection System
THE national government has given
the Bureau of Customs (BOC) the go signal to pursue
its P1.4-billion Container Inspection System project
aimed at curbing smuggling and terrorism in the
country.
Finance Secretary and National Economic
Development Authority-Investment Coordinating
Council (NEDA-ICC) Cabinet Committee chairman
Juanita D. Amatong said this will allow the bureau
to acquire seven seven container X-ray machines
that will be installed in various ports in Metro
Manila, Subic, Batangas and Cebu.
The government has approved on Friday
a P1.4-billion Container Inspection System project
aimed at reinforcing the government's anti-smuggling
and anti-terrorism efforts.
"The objective is to enhance
the government's anti-smuggling and anti-terrorism
campaign and increase revenue collections of the
BoC," Amatong said, adding the x-ray machines
would be used for the thorough checking of imported
boxes.
With the approval of the project,
Amatong said the BOC could start the bidding process
for the procurement of the equipment. She added
the bidding and installation process might take
about six months.
The container x-ray machines are
expected to uplift the bureauís anti-smuggling
campaign, making up for the agencyís lack
of manpower and technical equipment to apprehend
smugglers.
The bureau has only 5,000 workers and only about
700 are engaged in intelligence work, according
to Customs commissioner George Jereos.
He said the country has 14 major
ports, where in most cases the smaller and the
private ones are being used for smuggling. These
docks, the bureau said, are often neglected because
of lack of BOC agents and their remoteness.
The bureau is also planning to revive
the vehicle tracking system and restore the integrity
of the Customs seal. Jereos said these plans are
under way to flush out "undesirable"
BoC agents.
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September exports
dip 8.4%
THE sluggish movement of electronics
shipments abroad led to an 8.4% drop in exports
in September compared with the same month last
year, reported the National Statistics Office
(NSO).
Total export earnings during the month fell to
$3.354 billion from $3.837 billion the year before,
while receipts for the first nine months went
up 8.5% year on year to $28.892 billion from $26.631
billion.
Demand for electronic products grew
a slower 9.4% in September. A decline in global
demand for electronics is expected in the coming
months, analysts said. The Institute of International
Finance, Inc. reported the demand for information
technology-related products was expected to start
fading next year, together with garments.
The Philippines supplies some 12%
of global semiconductors. In September, the industry's
shipments grew 8.9% year on year to $1.8 billion
from $1.653 billion, and accounted for 49.5% of
total exports.
Top earners among the electronic
products group are electronic data processing,
$501.34 million; consumer electronics, $47.96
million; communication/radar, $38.6 million; and
automotive electronics, $33.81 million.
Articles of apparel and clothing
accessories was still the second top export in
September, even if earnings year on year fell
to $191.98 million from $211.07 million. Garments
firms were weighed down by the imminent end of
the quota system for export by January 2005 to
complement the World Trade Organization's liberalization
policy.
Ignition wiring set and other wiring
sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships was
the third top export in September with earnings
of $79.84 million, up a substantial 84.6% year
on year from $43.26 million.
Coconut oil was fourth in sales
abroad with $66.52 million, or a year-on-year
growth of 77.9% from $37.40 million. Receipts
from shipments of cathodes and sections of cathodes
of refined copper rose 45.4% to $53.08 million
from $36.50 million.
Rounding up the list of top export
earners for the month were petroleum products,
$48.59 million; other products manufactured from
materials imported on consignment basis, $46.4
million; woodcraft and furniture, $36.44 million;
metal components, $33.24 million; and fresh bananas,
$25.94 million. Receipts from the top 10 exports
alone reached $3.053 billion, or 83.9% of total
exports.
In September, Japan became the country's
top export market. It accounted for 21.3% of total
export income that month, valued at $774.43 million.
It grew 57.7% from last year's $491.23 million.
The US, previously the leading export
destination for Philippine goods, came in second
with a 16.8% share worth $610.28 million. This
was 4.8% lower from $640.79 million last year.
China, the Netherlands and Hong
Kong were also major markets for Philippines exports
in September. Shipments to China grew 18.9% to
$332.65 million, while exports to the Netherlands
rose 22.7% to $330.26 million. Exports to Hong
Kong grew to $290.13 million.
Other top Philippine export markets
were Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Germany, and
Vietnam. Vietnam reported the biggest growth in
Philippine exports at 800.8%.
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