PRBCB releases new IRR for amended Customs Brokers Act

0
2901

THE Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers (PRBCB) published on April 6, 2010 the rules and regulations implementing the provisions for Republic Act (RA) 9853, which amended certain sections of RA 9280 or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004.

PRBCB Resolution No. 01, series of 2010 (click here for copy) takes effect 15 days after publication or on April 21.

Crafted and approved before the new PRBCB board was recently sworn in, the resolution amended Section 6 of Rule II and Sections 27 and 29 of Rule IV of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Customs Brokers Act of 2004.

The new IRR defines who is considered in the practice of the customs broker profession; and allows corporations and brokerage houses to offer customs brokerage services as long as they have a minimum paid-up capital of P1 million and engage the services of at least one customs broker.

For corporations that represent importer-clients at the BOC, the IRR states that only the name of the professional customs broker shall appear in the import entry for lodgment.

The new rules also bar a customs broker from entering into engagement with more than one corporation, and prescribes a professional service contract between the broker and its clients.

Under the service contract, the broker is prohibited from transacting any type of business with the corporation’s clients with the same or similar nature for a period of at least one year from the termination of the service contract.

The new Section 6 of Rule II states that the scope of the practice of the customs broker profession consists of the following:

a. Consultation on matters relating to tariff and customs laws, the rules and regulation thereof, and all other laws, their rules and regulation affecting or in connection with activities of importation and exportation;

b. Preparation of customs requisite documents for import and export;

c. Declaration of customs duties and taxes;

d. Preparation, signing, filing, lodging and processing of import and export entries and documents required to be filed with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and other government agencies under the TCCP (Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines) and other existing laws;

e. Representing importers and exporters before any government agency and private entities in cases related to valuation and classification of imported articles; and

f. Rendering of other professional services in matters relating to customs and tariff laws, its procedures and practice.

The rules consider a customs broker in the practice of the profession if the nature of his/her employ in a private company requires professional knowledge in the field of customs and tariff administration; or if the broker teaches customs and tariff administration subjects in any university, college or school duly recognized by government.

Under the amended Section 2, Section 27, Rule IV of the IRR of the Customs Brokers Act of 2004, the import entry shall be signed by a customs broker and the consignee/owner/importer under oath based on the covering document submitted by the importer.

The section also provides that the “export declaration shall be signed by the exporter, or at his option, delegate the signing and processing of the document to his designated customs broker or authorized representative who shall be a full-time regular exporter’s employee knowledgeable in customs and tariff.”

Meanwhile, the new Section 29 of the IRR entitled “Admission to Professional Practice states that the practice of customs broker is a professional service, admission to which shall be determined upon the basis of individual and personal qualifications… although nothing in the rules shall prevent a corporation from being registered for the purpose of making representation in behalf of importer-clients in the BOC and other government agencies as long as the corporation shall engage or hire the services of at least one customs broker in his professional capacity.”