BOC issues rules on online filing of goods declaration during ECQ

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Screengrab of BOC's Customer Care Portal System
Screengrab of BOC’s Customer Care Portal System

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has released guidelines on online filing of goods declaration, an option for stakeholders whose movement is restricted by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) Memo No. 61-2020 dated March 24 and signed March 25 covers interim implementation of the online filing of goods declaration in all collection districts involving goods declaration processed at the Formal Entry Division, Informal Entry Division, or their equivalent units.

Online filing of goods declaration is referred to as the temporary acceptance of the electronic copy of goods declaration and its supporting documents, with the original copy to be submitted after April 12, 2020 or upon lifting of the ECQ, whichever comes earlier.

The online filing of goods declaration may be availed of by BOC-accredited importers, customs brokers, and declarants.

To avail, stakeholders should lodge a provisional goods declaration pursuant to Sections 403 (Provisional Goods Declaration) and 426 (Tentative Assessment of Provisional Goods Declaration) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), and Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 07-2020 (interim procedures for availing provisional goods declaration).

But they should use procedure code 4404 for formal consumption and 4505 for informal entry commercial goods.

Stakeholders may, in the interim, attach a scanned copy of a Letter of Commitment and Undertaking in lieu of the required notarized Undertaking, together with the Request for Release under Tentative Assessment.

The notarized Undertaking should be submitted, together with the original copy of other supporting documents, after April 12 or upon the lifting of the ECQ.

Non-compliance of the written commitment and undertaking to submit the hard copy of the original documents may cause the BOC to suspend the stakeholder’s accreditation or bar the importer, customs broker, or declarant from transacting with BOC.

Lodgment of the provisional goods declaration using the procedure codes 4404 and 4505 will only be allowed for purposes of online filing of goods declaration when the declarant is unable to submit the original copy of the supporting documents uploaded to the Customer Care Portal System (CCPS) during the ECQ.

CCPS (client.customs.gov.ph) is an online facility with support ticketing system that will be used for the online filing of goods declaration. The stakeholder must be registered with the CCPS.

Stakeholders who can submit the original copies of the supporting documents on or before April 12 may file either a normal provisional goods declaration using procedure code 4400 for formal consumption or a regular consumption goods declaration.

Tentative assessment of duties, taxes and other charges of goods declaration processed under OCOM Memo 61-2020 will only be completed when the original copy of the supporting documents that have been uploaded in the CCPS is submitted after April 12 or upon lifting of the ECQ, and the said documents are duly validated by BOC.

Online filing of goods declaration should be made within 48 hours from lodgment of provisional goods declaration or regular consumption goods declaration in BOC’s electronic-to-mobile (E2M) system.

The E2M lodgment of the provisional goods declaration will be in accordance to provisions set under CMO 07-2020. However, the filing and processing will be governed by the operational procedures of OCOM Memo 61-2020.

A post-clearance audit will be conducted on all provisional goods declarations lodged pursuant to the OCOM memo.

All online filing of goods declaration submitted prior to the effectivity of the OCOM order but not earlier than March 17 will be accepted and processed in accordance with the provisions of the OCOM order.

BOC has been encouraging stakeholders to use its online systems and avail of the provisional goods declaration to avoid going outside during the ECQ. However, for transactions that need a physical visit to BOC premises, an “accreditation pass” will be issued which authorized stakeholders can use to travel and pass checkpoints during the ECQ period. – Roumina Pablo