BIR amends accreditation req’ts for customs brokers, dealers

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Internal Revenue has amended the documentary requirements for brokers and dealers applying for a clearance certificate or accreditation with the Bureau of Customs.

Under the new guidelines, applicants no longer need to submit a certified copy of their certificate of registration with the BIR as well as their business registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, the BIR imposed new documentary requirements which include a certification issued by the concerned revenue district that the applicant has no pending criminal charges, delinquent account and tax liabilities.

The applicant is also required to submit a certification that it has filed the requisite monthly summary list of sales, purchases and importations for the next eight taxable quarters.

Applicants must also submit a certification that it had electronically filed the requisite alphabetical list of income recipients subjected to creditable withholding taxes during the last two preceding years and that the same were successfully uploaded to the BIR’s data warehouse.

Applications of importers/brokers found submitting any certification that is different from the one issued by the concerned offices shall be automatically rejected, BIR commissioner Kim Henares said.

She said only applications with certifications issued by the concerned BIR offices that the applicant is fully compliant with all the prescribed criteria shall be accepted by the Accounts Receivable Monitoring Division (ARMD).

The BIR chief noted that the six-month validity period of the provisional importers clearance certificate shall no longer be extended once the documents are not submitted without prejudice to the refiling of another application with the ARMD once the same are already available.

The new process of accreditation, mandated by the Department of Finance, aims to plug the loopholes in importation procedures and curb smuggling.