Importer, broker accreditation extended by another month
Category: Banking & Finance 27 Jun 2014
The Department of Finance (DOF) has extended the accreditation period for Philippine importers and customs brokers by another month, to July 31 from June 30.
Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima signed Department Order 046-2014 dated June 26, 2014, giving all concerned additional time to comply with all documentary requirements
The order took effect immediately, according to a statement released on Friday by the DOF.
Under DO 046-2014, “Failure to file the proper application with the Bureau of Internal Revenue [BIR] and the Bureau of Customs [BOC] by the date stated in the immediately preceding paragraph [July 31], and in the manner prescribed by the pertinent rules, shall result in the automatic cancellation of the existing accreditation, if any, effective
on August 1, 2014 or the date of expiration as indicated in the original BOC accreditation, whichever is earlier.”
The Philexport News and Features also reported the extension comes amid much complaint over the BIR and BOC’s inability to process the deluge of importer and broker applications. The BIR and BOC are attached agencies of the DOF.
Under the previous rules, all importers and customs brokers must respectively secure the importer clearance certificate (ICC) and broker clearance certificate from the BIR and another set of accreditation from the BOC by June 30.
Barring so will mean that importers and customs brokers, one month from the June 30 deadline, will be delisted from BOC Client Profile Registration System. That means their import shipments will not be processed by the BOC.
A strike by some brokers’ groups is ongoing with the culminating activity scheduled on June 30, in protest of the DOF, the BIR and the BOC accreditation regulations. A DOF official will meet brokers’ groups on Friday to address their concerns.
The accreditation regulations have sowed confusion in the trading community, with complaints of long queues and ill-informed staff at the BIR and the BOC. There are also reports that the BIR can only accommodate 300 applicants every single day.
According to Customs Deputy Commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group lawyer Agaton Uvero, there are about 15,000 importers and customs brokers previously accredited by the BOC. All of these have to secure new accreditation from both the BIR and the BOC.
As of June 17, Uvero said only 600 applicants have been processed by the BIR.
On the other hand, BOC Public Information and Assistance Division Chief Charo Logarta-Lagamon told PortCalls that as of June 25, the BIR has already denied 7,000 applications.
The Account Management Office (AMO), tasked to process applications of importers and customs brokers at the BOC, on June 20 wrote a letter to Customs Commissioner John P. Sevilla seeking extension of the accreditation for two months or until August 31, due to clamor from stakeholders
AMO chief, lawyer Jemina Sy-Flores, noted that as of June 20, only less than 800 importers and brokers have complied with the accreditation.
Moreover, Flores said AMO had received letters from stakeholders who fear non-processing of their shipments because the importer/customs broker was not able to comply with the deadline due to lack of requirements.
During a meeting on June 17, the Portusers Confederation raised the concern that importers and brokers might not be able to comply due to delays in accreditation processing at the BIR.
Flores said some have contended that automatic expiry of accreditation after the lapse of the prescribed period “will have an enormous negative impact on their business and the BOC collection.”
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