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A staging (dummy) bond policy/account is required for Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-registered enterprises whose bulk shipments are discharged directly to their private wharves or piers inside PEZA economic zones
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The policy satisfies requirements for implementation of the Automated Bonds Management System
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To create the staging bond policy/account, the PEZA-registered enterprise should write a request to the district collector, sub-port collector, or BOC-PEZA Office officer-in-charge
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The bond amount should be fixed at P500 million and the staging bond policy/account will expire on January 31 of the following year
A staging (dummy) bond policy/account is required for Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-registered enterprises whose bulk shipments are discharged directly to their private wharves or piers located inside PEZA economic zones.
The policy satisfies requirements for implementation of the Automated Bonds Management System (ABMS) under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 30-2020, which requires that the transfer of shipments from the port of discharge to PEZA zones should be covered by a bond policy/account.
READ: BOC order sets guidance on automated bonds management system adoption
Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) Memo No. 44-2021, dated Feb 26, 2021 but signed March 8 by Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, acknowledged instances when bulk shipments of PEZA-registered enterprises are discharged directly to their own private wharves or piers located in PEZA zones negating the rationale for posting of the required general transport surety bond (GTSB).
OCOM 44-2021 requires creation of a staging bond policy/account to be monitored by the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Bonds Division or the concerned collection district.
The ABMS is a BOC-wide system that handles processing of bond transactions, monitors and manages bond balances, and flags bonds that have matured. The ABMS was established pursuant to CMO 14-2012, which provides procedures for implementing the ABMS in all customs ports.
CMO 30-2020, meanwhile, provides guidelines for implementing the ABMS for the GTSB, a form of security to guarantee payment of duties and taxes and other obligations to BOC. The CMO applies to all transit bond accounts opened under BOC’s Electronic-to-Mobile (e2m) System in all collection districts, including sub-ports and other BOC offices.
Under CMO 30-2020, which was implemented last February, all electronically lodged transit goods declarations must have an approved bond policy in the ABMS starting March 1.
READ: BOC sets new rules on transit goods declaration bonds
To create a staging bond policy/account, OCOM Memo 44-2021 requires the PEZA-registered enterprise to write a request to the district collector, sub-port collector, or BOC-PEZA Office officer-in-charge. The request must include the PEZA-registered enterprise’s tax identification number, which will be used to create the staging bond policy/account.
The bond amount is fixed at P500 million. Consistent with CMO 30-2020, the staging bond policy/account will expire on January 31 of the following year.
The Bonds Division or its equivalent unit in the collection district should tag the staging bond policy/account as examined and approved in accordance with the procedures prescribed in CMO 14-2012.
During processing of the goods declaration, the Office of the Deputy Collector for Operations or its equivalent unit should thoroughly check declarations made in the transit single administrative document (TSAD), making sure the staging bond policy/account under the Terms of Payment is used only for shipments directly discharged at the PEZA-registered enterprise’s private wharf/pier located inside a PEZA zone.
For ports with no arrastre operator to confirm ownership of the shipment and tag it as “Released” in BOC’s Online Release System (OLRS), the chief of the Piers and Inspection Division or its equivalent unit will be given access to the OLRS for the tagging.
Once the shipment is fully discharged, its TSAD will be tagged “Arrived.” When the shipment is tagged “Arrived,” the amount charged will be reverted to the original balance of the staging bond policy. – Roumina Pablo
