CCBI:
Brokers must maintain independence at all times
CUSTOMS brokers may not be hired as
in-house brokers under Republic Act 9280 or the Customs
Brokers Act of 2004, stressed the Chamber of Customs
Brokers Inc. (CCBI). In its general assembly last week,
CCBI - the accredited professional organization under
RA 9280 - said customs brokers must remain independent
in order not to be used as "dummies". It is
feared that corporations would hire brokers in order
to perform, in a sense, "indirect practice"
of the profession. "Brokers should maintain their
independence from corporations. RA 9280 totally bars
any relationship between corporations and brokers,"
CCBI said during the assembly, attended mostly by representatives
from corporations offering customs clearance services
whose questions dwelled mainly on whether corporate
practice may still be allowed under RA 9280. CCBI said
that by May 21, the end of the 60-day transitory provision
- all transactions with the BOC must be handled by accredited
professional customs brokers and that no corporations
will be allowed to practice the customs brokerage profession.
RA 9280 officially enacted last March 30, 2004 but shelved
for the past two years, effectively regulates the practice
of the customs brokers' profession and prohibits corporate
practice of customs brokerage. Section 29 of the law
specifically provides that the customs broker practice
is a professional service and as such, "no firm,
company, or association may be registered or licensed
as such for the practice of customs broker profession".
In addition, Section 28 provides that no person shall
practice or offer to practice the profession, or use
the title unless one is a registered licensed customs
broker.
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Customs overshoots
Q1 target
THE Bureau of Customs has exceeded
its first-quarter collection goal by more than 5%, so
far recording three consecutive months of such performance
in the first year of implementation of a law rewarding
over-performing revenue officials with cash incentives.
Preliminary date showed the agency raked in P15.6 billion
from March 1 to 27, already P1.6 billion higher than
the target of P14 billion for the month and 37% higher
compared to last year. March, so far, has been the best-performing
month for the BOC exceeding target by some 11%. BOC
also exceeded its January and February targets. For
the quarter, the BOC collection reached P40.5 billion,
5.5% higher than the P38.386-billion goal for the period.
The figure is also 30% higher than the P31.2 billion
posted a year earlier. BOC said the figure still does
not include the P1.2 billion in taxes and duties on
imports made by government entities last month. Customs
is set to collect P197 billion this year, 39% more than
last year's P141.7 billion. The finance department decided
to increase the BOC target to P197 billion to account
for non-cash items as well as additional revenues from
the new value-added tax law. BOC is expected to collect
P27 billion more this year as a result of the imposition
of the sales tax on petroleum products.
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CTAP
irked over committee's inaction over industry woes
TRUCK operators are frustrated over
the slow action of a technical committee formed by the
government to look into the industry's plight. Almost
two months after its formation, the committee has yet
to convene and start hearings on Republic Act 8794 or
the No Overloading Law. Rodolfo De Ocampo, president
of the Confederation of Truckers Association of the
Philippines (CTAP), told PortCalls the committee's
non-action is forcing truck operators to start carrying
only cargoes with the correct weight regardless of the
consequences to shippers."We have no choice but
to accept containers with the correct weight in order
not to have any problems with the authorities,"
De Ocampo said. It is normal practice among shippers
to pack containers to save on shipping cost. Shippers
are charged based on delivery distance and not weight.
Truckers are being penalized P2,500 per apprehension
for violating RA 8794 but this cost is not passed on
to shippers. The government is bent on strictly enforcing
RA 8794 in almost all major thoroughfares to avoid excessive
wear and tear of the country's road network. Last February,
the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Operators
(ACTOO) staged a rally at the North Luzon expressway
to protest against the unjust implementation of the
No Overloading Law arguing that the NLEX management
is barking up the wrong tree as it has no power to prescribe
the allowed cargo weight limit on importers. ACTOO also
stands firm on its earlier plan for an operations shutdown
if the government fails to present a win-win solution
to the problem.
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