ALL customs brokers must register on or before
November 3 with any of the three Bureau of Customs (BOC)-accredited
value-added service providers or the BOC will block their
entries.
“By November 5th, any broker whose name does not appear
on the BOC database will have its entries blocked, leading
to a delay in the release of shipments,” Customs deputy
commissioner Alexander Arevalo said in an emergency meeting
with port stakeholders last Friday.
There are about 4,000 customs brokers in the country. A PortCalls
source said only a third of the number have secured registration
with the VASPs.
Arevalo said his office will request the three VASPs —
InterCommerce Network Service, Cargo Data Exchange and e-Konek
— for a list of their registered brokers on November
3.
The BOC has also lifted the deferment order shutting down
entry encoding centers (EECs) at the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (NAIA). This paves the way for the filing of all consumption
and warehouse entries at NAIA through VASPs beginning Monday.
The bureau earlier ordered a deferment in the shutdown of
EECs at the NAIA as well as the Ports of Cebu, giving importers
and their brokers a choice to file either through the EECs
or the VASPs.
The BOC will release a memorandum order this week for the
full phaseout of EECs at the NAIA, the Port of Manila, and
the Manila International Container Port. The bureau closed
EECs at the last two ports about a week ago but maintained
stand-by EEC operations in case of VASP technical glitches.
The EECs at the Ports of Cebu will remain operational pending
issuance of an order phasing out the same. The filing of transshipment
entries at ecozones through EECs also stays.
Logistics study: Intra-Asean container trade expected to double by 2020
INTRA-Asean container trade will more than
double from 1.5 million TEUs per year to four million TEUs
by 2020, according to a recent study on ASEAN logistics.
In a presentation at the recent PortCalls Cargo Economics
Conference, Dr. Ian C. Espada, deputy manager of Japan-based
ALMEC Corp which conducted the study, said the Philippines
will account for about 12% of the intra-ASEAN market by 2020,
from the present 9% share.
The intra-ASEAN container market is approximately worth $4
billion.
By 2020, Thailand will eclipse Malaysia as the country with
the highest share in the intra-ASEAN container market. By
then, Thailand will handle 21% of containers moving in the
region from the present 18%.
In contrast, Malaysia will handle less at 19% by 2020 from
today’s 23%.
Indonesia, with the second-highest share of 21% at present,
will also see its share drop to 14%.
The world’s top container port Singapore currently accounts
for 17% of the intra-ASEAN market but will sustain a one percentage-point
dip in share to 16% by 2020.
Up-and-coming economic juggernaut Vietnam will account for
14% of the market from the current 8%.
Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, which all contribute 3%
or less to the trade, will continue to have marginal container
shares by 2020.
The study found that the average cost per TEU in the intra-ASEAN
region is around $1,000 or about $1 per TEU km. This represents
approximately 5% of cargo value.
The intra-Asean trade, which already grew 25% in the past
few years, will be powered mainly by Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand,
Singapore and the Philippines, the study said.
Intra-ASEAN ports handle 125 million metric (mmt) tons a year,
just a fraction of the world total of 750 mmt.
Underpinning growth in the container trade is an expected
5.8% increase in ASEAN economic growth in the short to medium
term. From the mid to long term, growth is projected at 5.2%,
according to the study.
The region’s gross domestic product of $800 million
(2004 values) is expected to more than double to $1.9 billion
by 2020.
Vietnam and Indonesia will be the key growth areas, with Vietnam
growing the fastest.
ASEAN growth in trade is also projected to hit $2.4 trillion
per year in 2020 from the present $1 trillion.
Meanwhile, ASEAN air traffic, which has increased 4% per annum
in the past several years, is seen soaring from 4.5 mmt per
year to 10-15 mmt a year by 2020 due to more high-end manufacturing
activities.
Indonesia and Vietnam are the region’s emerging players
in the air sector.
The study said air traffic will be increasingly important
for high-end food exports such as fish.
From 2000-2005, the aviation market in the intra-ASEAN was
dominated by Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Thailand posted
the highest freight traffic growth of 7.5% for the five-year
period. It was followed by Malaysia, which posted a 4.4% growth,
and Singapore, 1.9%.
Together, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam intra-ASEAN
freight traffic grew 4% for the period in review.
In terms of potential areas for future investment for high-end
products, Thailand leads a survey of countries with 30% of
respondents saying they are open to future investments in
that country. Indonesia is a poor second with about 8%; followed
by Vietnam, 5%; Malaysia, 3%; the Philippines, 2%; and Singapore
1%.
Business group seeks another year of reduced wharfage fee
THE Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI)
and the Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) will
ask the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to extend the implementation
of the reduced wharfage fee for export products by another
year.
In the 33rd Philippine Business Conference last week, FPI
chairman Meneleo Carlos said the extra time will give exporters,
badly hit by the peso appreciation, time to recover.
Based on PPA records, exporters saved P27 million for the
first six months of the implementation of the reduced fee.
The policy was supposed to have ended on July 20, 2007 but
was extended until yearend in view of the continued strength
of the peso.
Beginning April, wharfage dues have been reduced from P259
to P20 per 20-footer and from P391.05 to P40 per 40-footer.
The move is in response to a presidential directive to reduce
transport costs to help promote the export industry.
PPA insists any extension after December 31 will, however,
hinge on results of the agency’s monthly monitoring
of exporters’ savings.
From April to July alone, PPA lost approximately P50 million
in revenues because of the reduction.
PPA has been under fire in the past few months after the Department
of Trade and Industry and the National Economic and Development
Authority have blamed it for the country’s high cost
of shipping.
PPA, in turn, blamed international shipping lines for charging
various fees in the guise of “miscellaneous charges”,
a charge the lines deny.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has filed more
smuggling cases before the Department of Justice, Customs
commissioner Napoleon Morales said in a briefing last week.
Of the three cases, two involve smuggling of commodities worth
about P2.2 million.
Fifteen persons have been named respondents — three
BOC employees, two licensed customs brokers, and 10 officers
of private corporations in violation of the Tariff and Customs
Code of the Philippines, as amended, and other related laws.
Morales said the first case involved unlawful importation
of four 40-foot reefer vans of fresh white onions declared
as assorted handtools and marble slabs and consigned to TextMart
Trading with approximate total landed cost of P840,000.
Named respondents were Leonardo B. Jornales, Proprietor/owner
of Textmart Trading; Ramil A. Valiente, licensed customs broker
of Textmart; Enrique D. Jubinal, president and general manager;
Bernard C. Saturnino, operations manager; Saturnino S. Rebong
III, marketing manager; Almina N. Goce, customs consultant
of JCS International Freight Services Inc.; and Gliceria Umandap,
chief of Liquidation and Billing Division, Port of Manila
(POM), for her failure to faithfully keep the entire records
and other pertinent documents relative to the shipment of
TextMart.
The second case refers to the unlawful importation of one
used RHD Mini Rover, three units used motorcycles, 244 pieces
of used assorted tires, 19 units of used hand tractors, 40
units of used agricultural engines and other auto parts declared
as machine parts. All are consigned to Le Dans International
and valued at about P1.4 million.
Named respondents were Robert Yen, proprietor/owner of Le
Dans International; Leo D. Rivera, general manager; Ivy Jovellanos,
representative of Le Dans; Hiyasmin Tolosa Galvez, licensed
customs broker; Annabelle Asprer, examiner, Section 6, Formal
Entry, POM; and Mike Dayrit, Enforcement Security Services
of POM.
The last case refers to misrepresentation and falsification
of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Certificate of Registration
in the application for renewal of the Customs Accreditation
of Importers.
Applicant and proprietor of Jobit Aquamarine Products, Inc.
Jocelyn E. Weban was named respondent in the case.
Morales said the fake certificate was submitted to conceal
the fact that Jobit Aquamarine is unregistered with the BIR.
Customs deputy commissioner Reynaldo Umali, chair of the Run
After The Smugglers (RATS) program of the BOC, said the filing
of the cases brings to 55 the total number filed under the
RATS Program involving 246 respondents.
For 2007 alone, RATS has filed 27 cases involving 100 respondents.
Twenty cases were favorably resolved by the Department of
Justice and filed in various courts while the rest are pending
investigation and/or submitted for resolution.
Infrastructure takes center stage at business conference
THE importance of infrastructure in economic
development was underscored once again, this time at last
week’s 33rd Philippine Business Conference.
US ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney, Philippine
Long Distance Telephone Co chair Manuel Pangilinan, and former
presidential adviser Renato Diaz all said the government’s
failure to address major infrastructure problems has kept
the country from taking advantage of economic and trade opportunities.
“Keep on investing on infrastructure,” Kenney
said, adding that focusing on infrastructure will create jobs
and bring in more benefits to the Filipinos in rural areas
and cities.
Pangilinan, on the other hand, said investment in infrastructure
would raise import and dollar demand, easing the pressure
on the peso and in turn lowering the cost of domestic production.
“To get the most of limited resources devoted to infrastructure,
both the government and the private sector should mobilize,
direct and focus their infrastructure spending at… strategic
locations that will help catalyze aggregate economic activity,”
he said, rather than spreading the spending around the whole
country, dissipating its effectiveness.
The core areas, he said, are the National Capital Region (NCR),
the Central Southern Luzon growth corridor, Metropolitan Cebu
and Metropolitan Davao.
“These areas account for a large and growing share of
national output with the NCR and Calabarzon producing almost
half or 48.4% of gross domestic product,” Pangilinan
explained.
He challenged the government to show its sincerity in the
area of foreign investments and tourism by opening the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
He also asked that the transfer of the international airport
to Clark or to an alternative airport be immediately set.
Renato V. Diaz, former Presidential Assistant for Central
Luzon, meanwhile urged the government to declare the Diosdado
Macapagal International Airport as the country’s premier
international airport. This, after the Airbus 380, the world’s
largest passenger jet, recently landed at the airport, showing
the facility’s readiness to handle long-range aircraft,
Diaz said.
AFPI still eyeing out-of-court settlement for neutral airway bill issue
THE Aircargo Forwarders of the Philippines,
Inc. (AFPI) and the International Air Transport Association
(IATA) will soon return to the negotiating table to settle
the issue on the use of the neutral airway bill (NAWB).
Talks earlier bogged down due to the refusal of AFPI and IATA
to budge on their respective positions and the untimely demise
of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) hearing officer handling
the case.
AFPI president Jaime Roxas told PortCalls the association
will initiate out-of-court negotiations, hoping to strike
an agreement and avoid a long legal tussle if CAB once again
takes over the issue.
While the association said it will push for a win-win solution,
the issue of the NAWB being provided to freight forwarders
for free is non negotiable, Roxas said.
“At the moment we are paying the NAWB under protest.
We will not even consider any proposal to reduce its price
since that means the NAWB will still be paid by forwarders,”
Roxas explained.
“If they (IATA) want to use the NAWB as the airlines’
universal airway bill, IATA should provide it for free and
not force airfreight forwarders to pay for it,” he stressed.
Since April last year, individual airway bills have been disallowed.
The NAWB is available at IATA for P10 per booklet, P2.50 lower
than when it was first introduced.
AFPI, in its pleadings before the CAB, said the use of the
NAWB is added cost on forwarders’ part and would jack
up charges. Previously, airway bills were supplied by individual
airlines for free.
Since its management shake-up a few months back, IATA has
softened its stance on the issue but continues to seek a fee
to recover the cost of printing the NAWB.
Only Philippine Airlines uses the NAWB to date.
IMPORTS from January to August inched up
3.8% to $35.325 billion from $34.044 billion in the same period
last year, the National Statistics Office reported last week.
Exports also posted a 4.9% growth to $32.829 billion from
$31.303 billion during the same period in 2006.
For August alone, imports were up 1.8% to $4.971 billion from
the same month last year’s $4.884 billion. However,
the rise is so much slower compared to the 14.3% increase
posted a month earlier.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has cut its growth projection
for imports to 7% from 10%, following release of the August
import data.
Electronics imports, which accounted for 46.3% of the total
import bill in August, grew 4.6% to $2.3 billion, after increasing
almost 13% in July.
Imports of mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials
rose 5.9% to $970 million or 19.5% of the total bill.
Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods, which accounted
for 43.4% of the total, eased 7.7% to $2.1 billion.
The United States is still the top source of imports for August
with a 13.9% share followed by Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Saudi
Arabia, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.
