MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) raised the “de minimis” value from P10 to P10,000 as its first measure under the new Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

The BOC announced the passage of Customs Administrative Order (CAO) 02-2016  on Monday, October 10, implementing Section 423 of the CMTA, which provides that “no duties and taxes shall be collected on goods with freight onboard (FOB) or free carrier (FCA) value of P10,000.00 or below.”

The new CAO will take effect on October 25, 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette. The full text of the order can be viewed here.

“This is good news for Filipinos, who can now fully enjoy their small purchases from other countries. I trust that everyone will strictly abide by the provisions of the CAO,” Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said in a statement on Monday.

The measure, the BOC said, is an upgrade from the decades-old Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), which only provided P10 as the de minimis threshold.

The government agency added that the CAO aims to minimize importation and customs administration costs in the clearance of importations with de minimis value without compromising customs border enforcement and control.

It also aims to make the BOC responsive to the growing trend of liberalization brought about by different international trade agreements.

Exemptions

The BOC said, however, that certain products are not covered under the new de minimis rule, such as prohibited and restricted importations.

For instance, importations of tobacco goods, wines, and spirits within the de minimis value shall still be subject to payment of excise tax, as provided by the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC).

The new CAO also gives Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III the power to adjust the de minimis value every 3 years to inflation using the Consumer Price Index provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority. – Rappler.com

Source: www.rappler.com