An estimated 17% of the almost 15,000 licensed customs brokers and importers in the Philippines have so far complied with the new rules, policies and procedures on the accreditation with the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the agency said in a press statement.
An initial tally made by the Account Management Office (AMO) showed it received and pre-evaluated about 2,575 brokers and importers for accreditation as of June 26, 2014.
From May 26 to June 18, the AMO received an average of 43 applications per day from brokers and importers. This doubled late last week and then grew five-fold this week.
“Since the start of the year, we had been vocal about the change in the accreditation process. Despite the fact that the pertinent orders and memoranda from the DOF, BIR and BOC have all been out for the past month, many brokers and importers still trooped to the BOC-AMO during the final stretch to the deadline. We expect more compliance and cooperation from our direct stakeholders so that we can streamline processes, implement clear guidelines and reforms that will further improve the Bureau,” said Customs Commissioner John P. Sevilla.
The Finance Department released two Department Orders (DO) that mandate the new process for accreditation with the BOC—DO No. 12-2014, released last 6 February 2014, and DO 18-2014, issued last February 26, 2014. The new policy requires brokers and importers to first apply for verification with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and secure an Importer Clearance Certificate or Broker Clearance Certificate prior to applying for accreditation with the BOC. The BIR and BOC issued Memorandum Orders that implement the DOs—the latter issuing Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 04-2014 which was repealed by CMO No. 11-2014 issued last May.
The Department of Finance has again extended the deadline to comply with accreditation requirements from June 30, 2014 to July 31, 2014 in response to concerns and requests made by stakeholders. The original deadline for those with immediately expiring accreditation was May 31, 2014. This was extended to June 30, 2014 or the original expiration date of accreditation—whichever comes earlier, by virtue of DO No. 33-2014 and CMO 11-2014.
