The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) has finally begun enforcing penalties for the late submission of electronic air freight manifests, three months after hitting the switch-on mode.
Management Information Systems and Technology Group (MISTG) deputy commissioner Gerardo Gambala, in a text message to PortCalls, said penalties started kicking in on September 1.
BOC previously deferred applying such penalties, choosing to adopt instead a switch-off mode (no penalties) under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 10-2015. The order, signed in June, mandates airlines and freight forwarders to electronically submit their manifests through value-added service providers, and includes a penalty arrangement.
READ: BOC starts imposing penalties on late submission of e-airfreight manifest
The switch-on mode means the entry declaration lodged by the declarant is linked to the airway bill (AWB) submitted by the airline or forwarder to BOC’s electronic-to-mobile (e2m) system. Once this entry declaration is processed and finally assessed by the authorized customs officer, the AWB will be “closed” and cannot be used anymore for another transaction.
The switch-on mode also means penalties for stakeholders who submit their manifests late.
Cut-off time for submitting the electronic inward foreign manifests (e-IFMs) is upon arrival of the aircraft if the port of loading is in Asia, and four hours before aircraft arrival if the port of loading is located elsewhere other than Asia.
BOC noted that if an airline or air express operator submits the e-IFM after cut-off, it is considered a late submission subject to a penalty of P10,000.
As for the electronic cargo consolidation manifest (e-CCM), cut-off is one hour after the aircraft has arrived. If the e-IFM is submitted late, the e-CCM will be accepted without penalty if submission through the e2m does not exceed 24 hours after the e-IFM is registered by the Office of the Deputy Collector for Operations.
The no-penalty policy will also apply if e-IFMs are not validated in time due to system errors or late encoding of date of last discharge.
To avoid penalty, the supplemental e-IFM should be submitted within 24 hours of the cut-off time for the e-IFM.
CMO 10-2015 also notes that if the late submission of e-IFM or e-CCM is caused by lapses on the part of BOC, such as downtime of the server or inaccessible portals, penalties may be waived.
An amendment to AWBs, meanwhile, can be made without penalty if done before the cut-off time. Amendments to the e-IFM after the cut-off time must be coursed through BOC’s Legal Division, and the district collector may impose penalties on major amendments made to the initial submission.
While the memo is already being implemented, Gambala said “there are still some issues that need to be addressed which is but normal every time we implement new systems.”
“However, rest assured that BOC is always ready to address those problems,” he added.
According to the MISTG chief, despite these issues, compliance by stakeholders has increased and “overall, everything is already running smoothly.”
Stakeholders, he added, can always email or call MISTG for concerns. Last July, the group created a team and a dedicated email address (airmanifest@customs.gov.ph) to cater specifically to concerns of stakeholders on electronic air manifest submission.
MISTG will also be calling another meeting or forum with stakeholders this month regarding the implementation of the electronic air manifest submission. – Roumina Pablo
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