The Bureau of Customs (BOC) inaugurated its first Customs Care Center (CCC), a one-stop shop at the Port of Manila that provides services such as centralized document receiving and releasing, payment processing and gate pass issuance.
“The launching of the Customs [Care] Center brings us closer to our goal of implementing a zero-contact policy to fully eradicate corruption,” said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who with Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero inaugurated the facility on February 7.
The one-stop shop facility is also meant to enhance trade facilitation and comply with Republic Act No. 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act.
The CCC will complement the operations of the BOC Customer Assistance and Response Services (BOC CARES), the agency’s call center-type customer service and assistance center.
Guerrero, in a text message to PortCalls, said the target is to establish CCCs in all major ports, with three initial ones this year, and with the Manila International Container Port as the next venue after Port of Manila.
Stakeholders going to the CCC must first select their desired service and get a ticket number from the ticket booth near the entrance.
There are six types of transactions offered: receiving, releasing, information, access in, access out, and payment.
Receiving is for submitting documents including, among others, the goods declaration, accreditation documents, and letters.
Information is for making follow-ups on any issues and concerns, asking for customs-related information, and lodging a complaint or inquiry about the status of documents.
Releasing is for picking up BOC documents after being notified via email through BOC’s Customs Care Portal.
Access in is for getting an access pass to be able to enter BOC premises, while Access out is for surrendering the access pass.
Lastly, Payment is for paying the fees and charges.
After a ticket is dispensed from the ticket booth, the stakeholder will have to wait for the ticket number to be called before proceeding to the designated counter to be assisted by a customs service officer. Senior citizens, persons with disability, and pregnant women can mark the check box at the bottom part of the display before pressing the desired service to have their ticket number called first.
The CCC also features self-service kiosks that allow access to various services of BOC including its online systems, such as the Goods Declaration Verification System, Document Tracking System, Parcel and Balikbayan Box Tracking System, and BOC Portal.
CCC is under BOC’s Public Information and Assistance Division and manned by trained customs service officers.
Photo from BOC
