The Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (CCBI) has re-launched its decade-old program that requires members to pay P10 per formal entry lodgement. The fee will be collected starting the middle of next month.
CCBI president Ferdinand Nague explained that the lodgement fee, formerly called the amelioration fund, has actually been approved by members a decade ago but implementation has been held in abeyance due to a lack of mechanism to collect fees.
The amelioration fund was created during the time of former CCBI president Manuel Yujuico and was approved during the time of former CCBI presidents Jose Leabres and Girlie Perez. The fund, initially pegged at P50, was meant to support CCBI operations.
Nague said the new CCBI Board of Directors has issued a resolution to implement the amelioration fund, but which will now be called lodgement fee.
The fee will cover three types of formal entry lodgement: consumption, transit, and warehousing. It will not initially cover lodgement for exports. It will be collected from lodgements made in all 17 customs districts and start 30 days from June 14.
CCBI vice president for Professional Development Atty. Norberto Castillo, in a presentation during the re-launch on June 14, said the lodgement fee fund as well as other membership dues will be spent on general office management; members’ subsidy for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars and conventions; expanded members’ benefits such as medical assistance and group insurance; and free legal assistance.
Castillo noted that CCBI currently has arrears of more than P1 million for the use of its office inside the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Manila building. The use of the office was initially free but BOC later collected rent on the unit.
Castillo said CCBI needs to generate additional funds as the annual fee of P500 and the monthly due of P100 is not enough for association projects and programs. He noted that CCBI only generates P15,000 per month, and collection only increases during the organization’s elections.
The fund from the lodgement fee will also be used for a campaign to amend Section 106 (d) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), the law’s declarant provision. Under the provision, engaging the services of customs brokers becomes optional two years after the law’s passage.
Nague earlier said one of his priorities as president is the amendment of the declarant provision, which he noted could “intensify smuggling” . He said allowing non-professionals to lodge entries could open the field to falsified declarations since non-professionals “don’t have a license” to protect.
Cebu and Davao amelioration fund
CCBI’s Cebu and Davao chapters have actually been collecting, for years now, a fee for their respective amelioration funds. Cebu customs brokers pay P10 and their Davao counterparts, P50.
CCBI Cebu Chapter executive vice president Albert Gantuangco, in a video message played during the launch, said the amelioration fund has been helpful and has allowed them to hold free seminars for members.
The P10 lodgement fee that will be imposed by the CCBI national chapter is on top of amelioration fee already being collected by the Cebu and Davao chapters. Nague said the lodgement fee has been discussed with both chapters and that it will be up to them to reduce the fee, if they so wish.
To pay the lodgement fee, customs brokers will have to deposit to a special CCBI account at a bank used by the three BOC-accredited value-added service providers (VASPs). Nague said since customs brokers already maintain prepaid accounts in VASP-nominated banks, it will not be too much of a hassle to deposit into a separate account in the same bank.
After making the deposit, customs brokers need to email a copy of the deposit slip to CCBI. An email address will be created solely for the lodgement fees. A dedicated computer in the CCBI office will also be used for the lodgement fee program.
CCBI will then inform the VASPs of the number of entries a customs broker may make based on the deposit. A customs broker with zero balance will not be able to make a lodgement.
To monitor the balance, VASPs will provide ledgers to customs brokers.
CCBI is projecting additional funds of P1 million a month with the collection of the lodgement fee, based on the estimated figure of 100,000 lodgements a month provided by VASPs.
Nague said the lodgement fee program will be audited, and a fund manager and an external auditor hired to manage the fund. Members will also be updated on the fund during meetings and seminars.
The separate bank accounts for the lodgement fee will assure easier auditing, he added. Castillo, meanwhile, said they plan to include the lodgement fee in the organization’s internal rules so that it will be secure from future abuse.
The CCBI Board is now drafting the program’s guidelines. A memorandum of agreement with VASPs will be signed and bank accounts created this week.
Nague clarified that the lodgement fee is a personal fee levied on customs brokers and should not be a pass-on fee charged to clients. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of dfrsce at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
