- The Bureau of Customs has released the standard units of quantity in filling in Box No. 41 when lodging goods declaration in the Electronic-to-Mobile system
- Customs Memorandum Order No. 02-2021 adopts the World Customs Organization recommendation to use standard units based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
Declarants should use standard units of quantity such as kilograms for weight or meters for length to fill in Box No. 41 (supplemental units) when lodging goods declaration in the Electronic-to-Mobile (E2M) system, according to a new Bureau of Customs (BOC) order.
Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 02-2021 provides supplemental guidelines and amends Annex A of CMO 49-2019 to include standard units of quantity for mandatory filling in of Box No. 41.
CMO 02-2021 seeks to adopt the World Customs Organization recommendation to use standard units to facilitate collection, comparison, and analysis of international statistics based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS).
CMO 49-2019 issued in 2019 requires declarants to accomplish completely and properly the supplemental units under Box No. 41 of the goods declaration in E2M.
READ: e2m upgraded to include more units of measurement
In relation to this, BOC in 2019 updated its E2M system to include other units of measurement besides kilograms in establishing the volume of different types of commodities and shipments and to help the bureau properly assess and collect duties and taxes on imported articles.
The standards of units to be implemented under CMO 02-2021 include:
- Weight – kg, carat
- Length – meters (m)
- Area – square meters (m2)
- Volume – cubic meters (m3), liters (l)
- Electrical power – 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh)
- Numbers (units) – pieces/items (u), pairs (2u), thousands of pieces/items, packs (u [jeu/pack])
Annex A under CMO 02-2021 enumerates the commodities under the 6-digit tariff line (HS Code subheading) of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Harmonized Tariff Nomenclatures (AHTN). It also covers commodities classifiable under the 8-digit tariff line (AHTN subheading) of the same 6-digit tariff line (HS Code subheading).
Under CMO 02-2021, BOC’s Management Information System and Technology Group should ensure the appropriate standard units of quantity are automatically reflected in Box No. 41 of the goods declaration based on Annex A, and that the lodgment of entries will only be accepted by the system once the supplemental unit has been filled out by the declarant.
CMO 02-2021 also provides the equivalent E2M codes of the standard units of quantity.
For goods with applicable standard unit of quantity under kg, the declaration in Box No. 41 will no longer be necessary provided the actual net weight of the goods is already reflected in the E2M goods declaration.
CMO 02-2021 is without prejudice to any subsequent updates to be issued by the Customs commissioner.
Failure to comply with any provision of CMO 02-2021 will be penalized accordingly pursuant to existing rules and regulations. – Roumina Pablo
