The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has rolled out its electronic cargo tracking system at the Port of Davao.
BOC-Davao on September 7 saw its first trip using the Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo (E-TRACC) System with a container departing from the Port of Sasa to Davao Fibreboard Packaging Plant and Luzviminda Bonded Warehouse Service Inc.
“The E-TRACC System will not only enable us to identify illegal activities during the movement of cargoes but will also provide the Bureau the necessary evidence to prove any wrongdoing while cargoes are in transit,” BOC-Davao district collector Atty. Erastus Sandino Austria said in a statement.
E-TRACC, which was launched last May, is a web-based tracking system for the inland movement of containerized cargoes during transit and transfer to other customs territories and facilities. It allows BOC to track, monitor, and audit the location and condition of cargoes, as well as obtain real-time alarms on diversion and tampering of cargoes.
E-TRACC was established under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 04-2020 issued last February.
READ: BOC orders e-tracking of cargoes in transit
Under CMO 04-2020, an electronic customs seal (ECS) is required during the transfer of cargo to a container yard/container freight station (CY/CFS) or other CFWs; transit of cargo bound for Free Zones, inland customs office, depots, or terminals; transit to customs bonded warehouses (CBW); export of cargo from Free Zones, inland customs office, depots or terminals, and CBWs to port of loading; and transfer of shipments subject to further verification and/or monitoring.
The ECS is a GPS-enabled sealing device or lock that can physically secure a cargo and provide real-time information on its location.
All container vans covered by CMO 04-2020 should be affixed with an ECS before being cleared to depart from the starting point or point of discharge for the voyage to the end point or point of destination.
Except when warranted under CMO 04-2020, full completion of customs cargo clearance is mandatory before any shipment is sealed with an ECS.
Booking for an E-TRACC trip can be made one day earlier or up to one hour before departure of the container.
E-TRACC requires payment of P500 within a 10-kilometer (km) radius from port of discharge and P700 beyond the 10-km radius from port of discharge. The charge covers both arming and disarming of the ECS.
Aside from Davao, E-TRACC is being implemented for all containers—except those containing electronic materials—discharged from the Port of Manila, Manila International Container Port (MICP), and Port of Batangas that are covered by the transit single administrative document (SAD) and bound for Laguna Technopark, Inc. and Cavite Economic Zone.
READ: E-TRACC for electronic materials bound for Laguna, Cavite eco zones deferred
The system will also be implemented soon in Subic. Imports for other Philippine Economic Zone Authority economic zones will be covered by another customs memorandum.
BOC also recently activated its E-TRACC Monitoring Center manned by a team that will track the real-time location and status of containers to ensure these don’t deviate from their route.
