The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) will pilot test beginning April 25 a program adopting transaction windows on its electronic-to-mobile (e2m) system, a move that effectively limits the time a user can submit transactions through this platform.
Management Information System and Technology Group deputy commissioner Dr. Vladimir Dennis Reyes, in an email to BOC-accredited value-added service providers (VASPs), said the transaction windows need to be implemented as “mitigating measures given the condition of e2m.”
E2m shutdowns are very common occurrences at the BOC, causing delays in data submissions and cargo processing and delivery. Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina told PortCalls on April 12 that the transaction windows are being set up to diffuse the number of e2m transactions “until such time that a sophisticated system is in place.”
READ: BOC eyes limited times for e2m transactions
In his email Reyes said, “As agreed, (April) 18 is our dry run to give us a way of gathering empirical data on transactions. “ The April 18 dry run adoption date was later changed to April 25.
He did not indicate how long or short the dry run will be.
“Let us assume the memo (has been) signed during this dry run,” Reyes noted, referring to Lina’s unsigned memo dated April 8 which ordered the adoption of the transactions windows.
Nomie Villaflores-Gonzales, chief of the BOC Systems Management Division, in a separate email to VASPs said, “The intent here is to explicitly measure the performance by transaction type. We will follow what is stated in the memo. ” She also instructed VASPs to report “per type of transactions in terms of speed of processing, etc. “
Under the unsigned memo, VASPs need to conform strictly to the following transaction windows:
- 1 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. – manifest submissions
- 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Client Profile Registration System (CPRS), payments, and BOC transactions. Only CPRS and payment-related transactions originating from VASPs will be allowed. All other transactions will be purged from the system.
- 7:15 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. – lodgement declarations. Sea cargo lodgements entered during this prescribed window will be processed by BOC the following working day. As such, only entries lodged on a Thursday night will be processed on Friday.
VASPs that will not comply with the new transaction schedules will be penalized with a one-hour suspension of access privileges to e2m for the first offense, a one-day suspension of access privileges for the second offense, and a one-month suspension of privileges for the third offense.
As the program is on dry run, PortCalls understands the penalty will not be imposed.
It is not clear whether stakeholders will comply though, considering there are no penalties involved plus there is much confusion surrounding implementation of the memo.
One VASP told PortCalls they will urge stakeholders to comply but at the same time will not shut anyone out of e2m if they don’t.
As it is, the memo has received much negative feedback from the cargo community, with some likening the transaction windows to the truck ban in that both will ultimately cause a slowdown in trade.
A stakeholder earlier questioned whether the draft order runs counter to the 24/7 operations espoused by BOC. Lina himself said operations at BOC Cebu are now running nonstop. Several banks have also extended their services 24/7 to meet BOC’s supposedly 24/7 schedule.
With importers facing a limited window for e2m transactions, the BOC plan will affect production lines, sources said.
It will also likely have a knock-on effect on other parts of the supply chain, including the Terminal Appointment Booking System in Manila ports, since booking through that system depends on BOC’s Online Cargo Release System (OLRS).
The OLRS enables port or arrastre operators, airline and other authorized warehouses, and container yard/container freight stations to receive release instructions from the BOC e2m system and transmit confirmation or misrouted OLRS messages through the same system. The limited transaction window will also thus affect the releasing of OLRS.
The unsigned order comes after BOC issued in January Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 04-2016 which already reduced the amount of transmissions via e2m to minimize the sending of duplicate data and lessen pressure on the technically challenged e2m. Under CMO 04-2016, lodging of data to the e2m system through VASP facilities is limited to 50 records per batch sent. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
