Manually processed PH airport transit declarations now require e2m lodgement

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Manually processed transit declarations at all airports of entry in the Philippines must now be lodged in the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) electronic-to-mobile (E2m) system once the air way bill (AWB) is validated, deputy commissioner Gerardo Gambala said.

In a memo dated July 6 and addressed to district collectors, economic zones, freeport zones and other concerned entities, Gambala noted that transit cargoes at all airports of entry bound for economic zones, freeport zones, and customs bonded warehouses and without validated AWB have been allowed to be processed manually since June 20.

This is being done to avoid delaying release of raw materials critical for production, said Gambala, who heads BOC’s Management Information System and Technology Group.

But “once the AWB is validated, the manually processed transit declarations are hereby required to lodge in E2m Customs System and re-process(ed),” Gambala said.

He added that temporary transit sheds should tag “release” of shipments so that the tag “arrive” at the final port of destination can be done upon arrival of transit cargoes.

The manual validation of AWB came about after BOC implemented on June 17 the “switch on” mode for electronic submission of the air manifest, pursuant to Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 10-2015.

With the switch-on mode activated, airlines and freight forwarders are required to electronically submit their airfreight manifests through value-added service providers (VASPs). The order also means late submissions of air manifests will be levied penalties.

READ: BOC starts imposing penalties on late submission of e-airfreight manifest

There were previous reports of queuing by stakeholders trying to lodge the e-air manifest, particularly at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), since the CMO took effect.

Gambala in a previous statement explained that the two-day downtime of BOC’s E2m system from June 17 to June 18 was caused by a technical malfunction and was not connected to the start of the “switch on” mode of submission for the electronic air manifest.

READ: Customs addresses issues around e2m downtime

With the switch-on mode, all electronic import entry declarations lodged by customs brokers in the e2m are automatically “matched” with the details of the electronic master AWB/house AWB (HAWB), precluding the need for manual intervention.

If the corresponding e-MAWB/HAWB is not found in the e2m, the system will reject the import entry lodged and transmit an error message to the VASP used by the customs broker.

The “not found” message means the electronic inward foreign manifest or e-IFM/electronic cargo consolidated manifest or e-CCM was not validated in the e2m.

Included import entry declarations are those concerning import goods for consumption, warehousing, and transhipment (involving Philippine Export Zone Authority areas, freeports, and port-to-port). – Roumina Pablo

 Image courtesy of jk1991 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net