Gov't
to take over NAIA 3
THE government will take over the
idled Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (NAIA) after the Pasay City Regional Trial
Court issued a writ of possession for the $650-million
property.
The writ was served after the government
posted a P3-billion bond. German airport operator
Fraport AG, which built Terminal 3 with Philippine
partner Philippine International Air Terminals
Co. (PIATCO), has brought the government before
the World Bank's International Centre for the
Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington,
while PIATCO has filed a recovery case before
the International Court of Arbitration of the
International Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar
Purisima said NAIA operator the Manila International
Airport Authority (MIAA) will be the expropriating
entity. The government is targeting the first
half of 2005 for the opening of the terminal.
Terminal 3 will become NAIA's main
terminal serving international flights. The current
international terminal, NAIA Terminal 1, will
be closed and Terminal 2 or the Centennial Terminal
will become a domestic terminal as originally
planned. MIAA general manager Alfonso Cusi, meanwhile,
assured the public that the NAIA Terminal 3 would
be opened to all passengers within six months,
barring any threat to its structural integrity.
He said airport authorities working
in tandem with private engineering groups and
an independent auditing firm will make an inventory
of all airport facilities and equipment and check
on the airportís structural integrity.
"That will be our immediate priority.
The president has ordered that all necessary repairs
and completion of pending construction jobs be
finished within six months and we will do that,"
the airport chief said.
He said the MIAA will also coordinate
closely with police and local authorities in securing
the entire NAIA 3 complex.
"This lawful act of expropriation
demonstrates the government's political will to
give to the public what is due them, a world-class
international airport facility," Cusi said.
Back to Top
MARINA urges shipping
firms to settle supervision fees before yearend
THE Maritime Industry Authority
(MARINA) recently urged all shipping operators,
charterers and other maritime companies to settle
their 2003 supervision fee obligations before
yearend.
In Memorandum Circular No. 2002
series of 2004, the maritime agency established
that payments of supervision fees covering 2003
should be settled by December 31, 2004.
The new circular was an amendment
to MARINA MC No. 187 or the Revised Rules on Annual
Supervision Fee, which mandated that annual supervision
fees must be paid before September 30 every year,
starting 2003.
For 2003, the basis of annual supervision
fee assessment is P25 per gross tonnage (GT) or
a minimum of P400. MARINA said the schedule will
remain except when the increase in the annual
supervision fee exceeds 50% of the assessment
for 2002. The maritime agency warned that shipping
companies and charterers who fail to settle the
charges before the deadline will be penalized
in accordance with sanctions and penalties defined
in MC No. 187.
For the first offense, the shipping
firm will be subject to non-acceptance of application
for issuance/extension/renewal of the Certificate
of Public Convenience (CPC) and Special Permit
(SP) or suspension of permits of the total fleet
until full payment of the annual supervision fee
due plus a 50% surcharge.
The second and succeeding offenses would result
in cancellation of all permits of the total fleet
plus full payment of the annual supervision fee
due plus a surcharge of 50%.
Back to Top
Post-Entry Audit system implementing
guidelines
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently
issued the implementing guidelines for the enforcement
of the Post-Entry Audit (PEA) system in the country
in accordance with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) Customs Valuation System or the Transaction
Value Method.
Through Customs Administrative Order (CAO) 4-2004,
the bureau enhanced and consolidated regulations
concerning the WTO valuation system and enforced
the record-keeping and PEA systems, which aims
to facilitate importation and protect government
revenue.
The new administrative order is an amendment to
CAO 5-2001, which implemented Republic Act 9135
or the Act amending certain provisions of the
Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.
The BOC said the promulgation of the new policies
seeks to have a fair, uniform and neutral system
for the valuation of goods for customs purposes;
recognize that transaction value should be the
basis for valuation of goods; and recognize that
valuation procedures should not be used to combat
dumping.
Under the new policy, the bureau stressed that
the dutiable value of imported goods should be
determined using one of six methods of valuation:
the transaction value, transaction value for identical
goods, transaction value of similar goods, deductive
value, computed value and fallback value, whichever
may be applicable.
It noted in the event that conversion of currency
would be necessary for the determination of the
dutiable value, the rate of exchange to be used
must be the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas published
rate.
The new system also guarantees an importer the
release of his goods from Customs despite delays
in the determination of dutiable values provided
he pays the duties and taxes on their declaration.
"He must also put up a sufficient guarantee in
such form as will be determined by the commissioner
of Customs in an appropriate regulation and in
an amount equivalent to the additional taxes and
duties due, computed by Customs to be approved
by the Customs collector concerned," the BOC said.
The new policy mandates that importers keep all
the records of their importations and/or books
of accounts, business, computer systems and all
other customs commercial data for a period of
three years from the date of filing of the import
entry. This will help verify the accuracy of the
transaction value declared by the importer of
the customs broker on an import entry.
Records to be kept include company or entity structure,
ordering and purchase documentation, shipping,
importation, exportation and transportation documentation,
manufacturing, stock and resale documentation,
bank documents, financial statements and other
accounting infor-mation.
Importing firms which fail to keep these records
would be subject to an administrative fine equivalent
to 20% on the articles of the importations for
which no records were kept; hold release of subsequent
importations to answer for the fine; and criminal
prosecution punishable with a fine of not less
than P100,000 and imprisonment of up to six years.
The BOC will also keep a record of audit results
in a database of importer and broker profiles,
including details such as articles of incorporation,
company structure, key importations, privileges
enjoyed, penalties and risk categories.
Firms to be audited, the BOC explained, will be
selected by a computer-aided risk management system,
the parameters of which are to be based on relative
magnitude of customs revenue from the firm; rates
of duties of the firm's imports; compliance track
record of the firm; and assessment of the risk
to revenue of the firm's import activities.
The chosen importers/brokers would then have to
allow authorized customs officers to enter their
premises and conduct audit, examination, inspection,
verification and investigation. "Any importer
who denies full and free access to the records
required to be kept shall be punished for contempt.
Also, their goods subject to audit will be re-assessed,"
the bureau warned. During the conduct of the audit,
the bureau said the customs officer must be able
to produce a duplicate of the original Audit Notification
Letter (ANL) which was earlier issued by the Customs
commissioner to the importer/broker and an official
Customs identification card. "No audit shall commence
without the issuance by the commissioner of Customs
of an ANL," it stressed.
Back to Top
PPA capital assets up P1,045.74
M in 2003
AT the close of 2003, the Philippine
Ports Authority (PPA) said it has increased its
capital assets by P1,045.74 million through the
completion of 15 major port projects in the country.
Last year, P1,257.39 million was earmarked for
the implementation of 33 major port projects nationwide.
The port agency noted most of the projects are
for the promotion of the roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro)
transport system.
"For 2003, various port development projects were
undertaken which include the construction of additional/new
ro-ro berths and backup areas needed for marshalling
rolling cargoes," PPA said.
Of the completed projects, a major component was
the provision of ro-ro facilities at the ports
of Orion in Bataan, Currimao in Ilocos Norte,
Masbate, Caticlan in Aklan and Hilongos, Maasin
and Tubigon in Leyte.
The ro-ro projects at the ports of Orion and Caticlan
effectively connected Manila to Dapitan through
Orion-Manila, Batangas-Calapan, Caticlan-Roxas,
Iloilo-Bacolod, and Dumaguete-Dapitan.
These links, the port agency said, have contributed
to trade flows in the provinces of Oriental Mindoro,
Marinduque, Romblon and Batangas in Luzon; Aklan,
Antique, Iloilo, Capiz, Negros Oriental, Negros
Occidental, Bohol, Cebu, Guimaras and Siquijor
in the Visayas; and Misamis Occidental, Misamis
Oriental, Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga del Norte
in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, the port regulator said 18 ongoing
major capital investment port development projects
are estimated to further increase its capital
assets by P1.79 million once completed this year.
Back to Top
|
