Filipino consumers and residents will welcome the new agreement between the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to work jointly to speed up the clearing and delivery of parcels received from abroad through the postal service.
PHLPost and BOC on November 10 inked a memorandum of agreement that rationalizes and simplifies the joint operations and customs processes between PHLPost and BOC, superseding policies and procedures that have not been updated since 1973.
“This refinement in the processes will be beneficial to the common Filipino, the Filipino worker, and the Filipino family who receive gifts and buy items from abroad,” PHLPost postmaster general and chief executive officer Josie Dela Cruz said.
“The streamlined method will speed up the system with a centralized design in collecting duties and taxes so that items get released faster,” Dela Cruz added.
She noted the “painstaking efforts” that were taken by the two agencies to “synergize and institute significant reforms, but more than the profit, our ultimate goal is to serve the people, especially that the holiday season is coming.”
Under the MOA, examination and assessment of customs duties will be centralized at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) for all parcels and mail matters that arrive by air, and at the Surface Mail Exchange Department (SMED) for those conveyed by sea.
BOC will close down all other customs facilities and operations in other post offices and distribution centers nationwide, and designate PHLPost as its authorized collecting agent.
The two agencies will adopt a system for screening, sorting, and inspecting all letters, parcels, and express mail items, including procedures for items tagged for further examination.
BOC will also ensure 24/7 manning of customs examination and assessment operations at both CMEC and SMED.
The MOA further stipulates a customs clearance time of 24 hours from arrival at CMEC or SMED for time-sensitive mail like express mail, 48 hours for registered mail and small packets, and 72 hours for air parcels and surface mail, except for items tagged for further examination.
PHLPost will set up help desks to contact addressees of mail matters for tax dues based on Customs’ assessment before delivery at the doorstep of the claimant’s house.
“It is important for the public to understand that all mail and parcels may be subject to customs examination, duties, taxes and other fees,” Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla said.
“What our agreement with PHLPost provides is convenience—clear, simple and transparent processes for assessment, appraisal and collection of customs duties and other import charges from letter posts, parcel posts, and express mail items,” Sevilla pointed out.
The improvements to the inter-operability and regulations between the two agencies are also expected to align handling of mail matters with current market demands and the service standard requirements of the Universal Postal Union and the World Customs Organization. They also comply with integration efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to incorporate borderless trade and economies.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
