July 31 deadline to secure BIR, BOC accreditation stays

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Rosana San Vicente, chief of the Bureau of Internal Revenue Accounts Receivable Monitoring Division
At the recently concluded Cargo Transport Summit 2 were Rosana San Vicente (left), chief of the Bureau of Internal Revenue Accounts Receivable Monitoring Division and Atty Agaton Teodoro Uvero, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Customs Assessment Operations and Coordinating Group.

The July 31 deadline for importers and customs brokers to secure the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) accreditation they need to import shipments will not likely be extended.

“There’s a low chance it will be extended,” Atty. Agaton Teodoro Uvero, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group, told participants at the Cargo Transport Summit 2 organized by the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association and PortCalls on July 15.

BOC’s mother agency, the Department of Finance, issued on June 26 Department Order No. 46-2014 extending the deadline for another month to July 31 from June 30.

As of the morning of July 15, there were about 11,000 applicants for accreditation, of which 85% were importers and 15% customs brokers, according to Rosana San Vicente, chief of the Bureau of Internal Revenue Accounts Receivable Monitoring Division (ARMD). ARMD is in charge of accrediting importers and customs brokers at the agency.

CrowdAccording to the new accreditation rules, importers and brokers need to secure an Importer Clearance Certificate (ICC) or Broker Clearance Certificate (BCC) from the BIR before they can move to the next phase and apply for another accreditation with the BOC.

San Vicente said that out of the 11,000 applications, “less than 1,000, more than 600” applicants have been processed so far.

“Several are [waiting] for final evaluation and the rest, about 50%, [are] waiting for replies from concerned offices of the bureau regarding tax compliance of these applicants,” she added.

The ARMD chief stressed that the notification of approval or denial of these applications will be sent via email or coursed through phone calls.

 

BIR stub accepted at BOC

Uvero noted importers and brokers who have already applied for ICC and BCC may proceed with the BOC application upon presenting the stub and official receipt (OR) from the BIR as well as other additional requirements asked for by the customs agency.

As of July 15, he said the BOC Accounts Monitoring Office (AMO) in charge of the accreditation had processed about 2,000 applications.

Uvero clarified that only importers and brokers who have previously transacted with the BOC prior to the new accreditation rules can present their stubs and ORs as proof of ICC or BCC application.

New importers and brokers should secure an ICC or BCC first, as their BIR stubs and ORs will not be honored by the AMO.

“If you are a new company, hindi puwedeng application lang (application won’t do). You need to have clearance from BIR,” Uvero said.

While waiting for the result of their application with the BIR, importers and brokers may start processing their shipments. Importers and brokers with denied applications will be given “30 days to wind up” processing their pending shipments and file an appeal with the BIR.

Uvero said any company that plans to import goods or materials, although not an importer or manufacturer, also needs to be accredited.

Meanwhile, San Vicente said the BIR has relaxed its requirements for importers securing documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). San Vicente said the BIR will proceed with its evaluation if the importers provide proof of application with SEC. – Text and photo by Roumina Pablo

10 COMMENTS

  1. Based on the latest “ADVISORY” released by BIR-ARMD, we are only allowed to follow-up within the period of Sept 1~5, 2014.

    What should we do to our pending Import Commodity Clearance (ICC)at the Bureau of Philippine Standard (BPS)? They are requiring us to attached the BOC Certificate of Accreditation? We can’t sell our products without the BPS Stickers.

    Would BPS give us reconsideration to accept our application and release us the stickers?

    Thank you

    • I’m assuming you’ve already applied with the BOC for accreditation as importer (considering the deadline is July 31). In case your application is still pending, then I suggest you try to submit whatever document/s you have from BOC as proof that you have applied, but has yet to be given the final certificate of accreditation.

      Going by this, it would be ludicrous for BPS not to reconsider your application on account of something that is beyond your control.

      For all it’s worth, the BOC is claiming securing a certificate of accreditation from them is fast enough.

  2. We are new company and we are done with BIR-ICC awaiting for the release by September 29, 2014. Indeed when we process with BOC they did not accept our application since we cannot present our ICC. What can we do now we already have commitment with our distributor. Can we proceed with importation as it is stated also in above article that we can do so and if denied we do have 30 days to wind up. Please clarify this matter.

    • Since you already missed the July 31 deadline, you need to secure the ACTUAL ICC from the BIR before you can apply with the BOC. In the meantime, you cannot import without accreditation from the BOC.

      Please take note the 30-day window applied only to those who met the July 31 deadline, which your company unfortunately missed.

  3. We are a contractor, We have a past history for importation, but in today’s case, our license has expired and we were unable to renew it and opted to file for a new application, Can our company be treated as “a company with previous transactions with the BOC”? with the BIR ICC, we have made it in submitting our application on July 31. But it says we could only follow up on OCT.5-10
    Is there any way we can speed up the process or allow us to import our spare part requirements for preventive maintenance for our heavy equipment?

  4. Please send us information the specific address/particular office where we can submit our BOC application.thnx

    • Applications should be coursed through the Bureau of Customs Account Management Office (AMO), Port Area, Manila.

  5. are PEZA registered company need to undergo the same process? Can we import without accreditation from BOC?. Thank you for your time in answering my inquiry.

    • PEZA-registered companies are also required to secure an importer clearance certificate (ICC) from the BIR. Only after you secure your BIR ICC can you apply for a certificate from the BOC.

      Without a BOC certificate, you cannot import.

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