PISFA, AISL MOA on container deposit fee expected soon
THE Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders
Association (PISFA) and the Association of International Shipping
Lines (AISL) will soon sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA)
on container deposit fees, according to PISFA president Dexter
Yu.
“PISFA is looking to implement the agreement next month.
The MOA would shield forwarders from any surcharges involving
their checks issued as insurance for containers within the
free-time period,” Yu said.
He told PortCalls a meeting with AISL is being set up to finalize
the MOA.
When contacted, AISL declined to comment on details of the
proposal.
Based on the proposed MOA, AISL will accept checks issued
by PISFA members as a guarantee for the use of carriers’
containers. The checks would only be deposited to banks when
the free-time period — usually five to seven days –
lapses.
PISFA members seeking to be part of the program will have
to pay a bond under the proposal.
“There will be safety nets in place to protect the interests
not only of PISFA but also the carriers,” Yu said. “These
safety nets should be followed for the provisions of the MOA
to take effect,” he added.
“I think this is a win-win solution for both forwarders
and carriers as it will somehow reduce logistics cost and
will be a good start for a better long-term partnership,”
Yu said.
TANKER operators are getting ready for a
long and ugly legal battle involving the implementation of
Republic Act 9483 or the Oil Pollution Compensation Act with
the release this month of the law’s implementing guidelines.
The Philippine Petroleum Sea Transport Association (Philpesta),
Association of Tanker Operators of the Philippines and the
Petroleum Institute of the Philippines said they are seeking
legal redress against the law which mandates that for every
liter of oil delivered by operators, P0.10 will go to the
Oil Pollution Compensation Fund for use in cases of oil spills.
“With the continuing volatility in oil prices and the
impending phase out of single-hull tankers operating in the
domestic trade by April, the industry can hardly take any
additional levy at the moment,” a Philpesta source told
PortCalls.
THE government is prioritizing the expansion
of domestic and international airports to help reduce logistics
costs and raise the competitiveness of Philippine products.
Addressing the local and international business community
during last Friday’s 2008 economic briefing, President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said government is setting aside a
larger chunk of its infrastructure spending for the development
of airports to spur growth in the countryside.
The government is also studying the possibility of allowing
other international carriers — aside from the nominated
airline of the country where the Philippines has reciprocal
rights — to land at Clark or Diosdado Macapagal International
Airport without negotiating another bilateral agreement aside
from the existing one, she said.
“In the North, airports there should be geared towards
cargo operations specifically agricultural products just like
the one in Pangasinan where it should be able to accommodate
both passengers and cargo,” the President explained.
“There is also a need to immediately operate the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 as it is the gateway
to the Philippines,” she added.
NAIA 3 is still undergoing technical and struc-tural upgrades.
Others for imp-rovement are Iloilo, Bacolod and Bukidnon.
THE fate of the Chamber of Customs Brokers,
Inc. (CCBI) as the Accredited Professional Organization (APO)
under Republic Act 9280 or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004
may be known as early as next month.
This after the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) gave
the CCBI and another group seeking accreditation as APO, the
Professional Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines,
Inc. (PCBAPI), thirty days from January 29 to submit their
written arguments.
CCBI said it wants the PRC to decide on which group will be
the APO based on documentary annexes it will submit in order
to do away with a formal trial.
“Nonetheless, we strongly stress our earlier position
that CCBI is and will remain the APO until next year…
The mere fact that PRC decided to hear the case… is
a clear demonstration that CCBI is still the APO under RA
9280 contrary to the claim of PCBAPI that our accreditation
has lapsed and was not renewed,” CCBI explained.
CCBI’s opinion hinges on a ruling by the Philippine
Association of Professional Regulatory Board Members, Inc.,
the body deputized by PRC to receive and evaluate documents
submitted by various APO in the renewal of their PRC accreditation.
Under PRC Resolution 2006-356 series of 2006, the next cycle
of re-accreditation shall be 2010-2012, and every three years
thereafter while the next renewal cycle shall commence September
1, 2009 until December 31, 2009 and every three years thereafter.
PCBAPI is lobbying for APO accreditation claiming CCBI’s
APO accreditation has supposedly expired on December 5, 2007
and that no PRC renewal has been forthcoming.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P129.12
billion in value-added tax (VAT) last year, up 8.6% or P10.25
billion from the previous year’s P118.86 billion.
In its annual report, BOC said the VAT on oil imports amounted
to P46.24 billion, of which P28.968 billion were from crude
and P17.277 billion were from petrol products.
The P28.968-billion VAT was collected out of the P249.84 billion
worth of crude oil imports and the P17.27 billion VAT out
of the P136.85 billion worth of imported finished petroleum
products.
Meanwhile, the 2007 excise tax collection of P13.38 billion
from alcohol, tobacco and petroleum products was higher by
P2.63 billion or 24.4% compared with the P10.75 billion collected
in 2006.
“While VAT and excise tax collections perked up, duties
collected—mirroring the expanding share of duty free
items to total imports--remained flat at P68.53 billion, or
P54.9 million below the 2006 level,” the BOC report
said.
Non-oil cargoes accounted for P146.9 billion of duties and
taxes and collected, 10% or P10.24 billion higher than it
posted in 2006.
Taxes on crude oil registered a 7.5% drop to P36.22 billion,
consistent with the diminished refining capacity of the country.
“The slack was picked up by the uptick in tax and duty
collections on finished petroleum products which grew 22.5%,
or P5.02 billion to P27.36 billion in 2007,” the report
said.
The national government raised the VAT from 10% to 12% in
2006, resulting in the BOC’s positive collection performance
in the same year.
The national government has assigned BOC a collection target
of P254 billion for 2008.
The bureau is lobbying to bring down its target, citing the
strong peso and the surge in oil prices that could adversely
affect the oil import volumes.
BOC claimed that for every P1 appreciation against the US
dollar, the bureau loses revenues of P3 billion.
IT’S final. There will be no cut in
the wharfage fee for exports at this time, according to the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
In an interview, PPA general manager Atty. Oscar Sevilla said
the 90% wharfage fee discount implemented from April to December
2007 offered few benefits for shippers and meant less funds
for major PPA projects, slowing down many in the pipeline.
The wharfage fee is one of two major sources of PPA revenues,
the other being port dues.
“We will not entertain any petition to introduce (the
discount) again at this time…with exporters claiming
that the reduced fee for the past nine months (had) negligible
(effects),” Sevilla said.
Only a direct order from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
will make the PPA change its mind.
“The Transport Secretary is also firm in his earlier
stance not to bring back the cut. (He also said) any petition
to reduce port fees should be coursed through his office and
not the PPA,” Sevilla said.
Since January, the PPA has reverted to the original wharfage
fee of P259.70 and P391.05 per 20-footer and 40-footer, respectively,
after the reduced fees of P20 per 20-footer and P40 per 40-footer
lapsed on December 31.
Based on PPA records, exporters saved P27 million in the first
six months of the implementation of the reduced fee. The PPA,
however, lost about P100 million in revenues since April last
year.
BOC: Container security fee stays at current levels for now
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is shelving a
planned increase in the container security fee (CSF), saying
current fees are enough to cover maintenance costs for x-ray
machines and build savings for machine loan repayment which
starts in 2012.
From the CSF of $5 for every 20-footer and $10 for every 40-footer,
the BOC collected P217 million from May to December 2007.
BOC originally wanted the fee to be $25 and $50 per 20-footer
and 40-footer, respectively, but strong lobby from Port Users
Confederation Inc. and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce
and Industry cut the rate to its current levels.
“I am okay with the fee for now. What is important is
that (with the use of the x-ray machines) we have stopped
so many misdeclarations and other forms of smuggling in our
ports (which have) cushioned the effects of the lower CSF.
For me, that is more valuable than collecting more,”
Customs commissioner Napoleon Morales explained.
“Nonetheless, we will still pursue our planned increase
in CSF in due time particularly if the five-year grace period
for loan repayment is about to lapse,” Morales said.
From May to November 2007, the BOC facilitated the release
of 12,622 containers without the need for physical inspection
and seized 30 misdeclared shipments, nine of which were forfeited
in favor of government.
In July, the BOC x-ray unit collected an additional P362 million
at the formal entry division at the Port of Manila from items
such as electronics, motor vehicles, hardware, and other miscellaneous
products.
With the help of x-ray technology, the agency this year wants
to jack up collection by at least 10%, keep physical examination
of containerized shipments to about 10% of the total number
of containers, and increase the seizure of prohibited and
regulated goods by at least 100%.
The BOC has almost completed the roll out of 30 x-ray machines
at the Port of Manila, Manila International Container Port,
Cebu and Food Terminal Inc, Manila Harbour Centre, Subic Bay,
Clarkfield, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos, Batangas,
and Zamboanga.
Two thirds of the CSF proceeds will be used to pay the 20-year
loan; the rest will go to a fund that will pay for the administrative
and maintenance cost of operating the machines.
THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and
the Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently signed a memorandum of
agreement (MOA) that allows them to harness harbor pilots
for their anti-smuggling efforts.
In an interview after the signing ceremony, PPA general manager
Atty. Oscar Sevilla said the United Harbor Pilots Association
of the Philippines (UHPAP) will help the BOC validate raw
information on goods carried by vessels.
“The harbor pilots (will) access the manifest from vessels
set to dock, forwarding it to the BOC for verification specifically
within the vicinity of private and private commercial ports,”
Sevilla said.
“The harbor pilots are in the best position to identify
which vessels are involved in smuggling as they have advance
information on vessels docking at our ports,” Sevilla
added.
“Our anti-smuggling campaign is hinged on information.
The more information we get, the better we can operate and
decide on smuggling cases. The information from the PPA and
the UHPAP will help us in our intelligence operations, case
building and post-entry audit,” Customs commissioner
Napoleon Morales for his part said.
Under the MOA, the PPA will require vessels to submit their
cargo manifest and other documents prior to berthing. These
documents will be used by the BOC to counter check whether
loaded cargoes are smuggled, misdeclared or undervalued.
The UHPAP, which provides mandatory pilotage services to docking
vessels, will also provide BOC with a regular list of vessels
maneuvered in ports. The BOC will use the list to track the
movement of all vessels and filter out the legitimate from
those that claim to come from a domestic port but in fact
originate from overseas and carry smuggled goods. The MOA
is for full implementation in March.
At the MOA signing between PPA and
BOC were (L to R)
United Harbor Pilots Association of the Philippines
president Capt. Vicente Lagura, Customs commissioner
Napoleon Morales,PPA general manager Atty. Oscar Sevilla,
and PPA assistant general manager for operations Ben Cecilio
