Group backs DOF plan to bid out pre-inspection contract

A consumer group, Tinig ng Mamimiling Pilipino (TIMPI), threw yesterday its support behind the Department of Finance (DOF) plan to bid out anew the pre-shipment inspection contract.

TIMPI president Jose T. Marchan said the revival of a new pre-shipment contract is important to the private sector and importers because it will free the importers of precious time and money brought about by the storage or warehousing fees and other expenses incurred in the delay of their shipments.

This would, in turn, benefit the consumers because it would lessen the prices of goods in the market brought about by the efficient inspection system for the imported goods, Marchan added.

What is important about this new pre-shipment inspection service scheme is that the government will not pay for the services rendered by the inspector but the private sector, he stressed.

Customs employees should not worry about the new pre-shipment inspection contract because it is a support mechanism for the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and importers to facilitate and to come up with correct duties of imported goods, Marchan said.

The DOF announced three weeks ago plans to commission a new pre-shipment inspection company to beef up revenues and to curb smuggling but with a new set-up wherein the private sector will shoulder the pre-shipment obligations.

There are several companies, as stated by the DOF, who are interested in participating in the bidding for a new pre-shipment contract. Smith Bell & Co., Inc., for one, announced that it is interested. Other companies that could be interested are: Intertek, Bureau Veritas, Cotecna and Admiral Testing.

Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) is the company previously hired by the government to conduct pre-shipment inspection.