BoC vows to speed up cargo inspection as holiday season nears

MANILA, Philippines - In preparation for the Christmas season, the Bureau of Customs has tightened its rules on holding up suspected cargoes for inspection to fast track their release and avoid a repeat of a port congestion last year.

“Effective immediately, shipments can only be held through a validly issued alert order. Any official, employee or person who aids in detaining a shipment in a manner not compliant with this shall be subject to administrative and criminal actions,” Customs said in a statement on Thursday.

Alert orders are issued to shipments which are found to have contain potential illegal imports or in violation of existing trade laws. The order allows Customs to conduct personal inspection aside from the common X-ray evaluation.

Seeing potential abuse in holding up cargoes, the lifting of an alert order by Office of the Commissioner should act as a free-pass to the shipment which should not be held by any other Customs official.

Previously, alert orders can be issued and lifted by the commissioner, deputy commissioners for intelligence and enforcement groups as well as all district collectors. The new regulations limit the lifting of the alert order to the Customs chief and the district collector in charge of the shipment.

“A shipment already alerted and examined shall not be subject to another alert or examination to minimize unnecessary costs for importers,” the bureau said.

“Once the alert order has been lifted and the shipment has been tagged in the On-Line Release System, no alerting office can hold it any further for whatever reason, unless a recommendation is submitted to the commissioner for an issuance of a special stop order,” it explained.

Agaton Uvero, deputy commissioner for assessment and operations coordinating group, said the new rules will help prevent congestion at the country’s ports during the holiday season when shipments dramatically increase.

"(This) will address the apprehensions of… traders, importers, shipping lines and forwarders with regard to the possible repeat of the port congestion problems last year which resulted (in) billions of losses to the business community,” Uvero was quoted in the statement as saying.

Manila ports got congested last year after an expanded a truck ban in the Metro extended hours trucks were not allowed to ply the area. The move was intended to ease heavy traffic, but businesses said this also delayed deliveries to outlets.

After seven months, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada lifted his order.

Customs manages the country’s ports and collects state revenues through its trade facilitation mandate.

As of August, the bureau, which traditionally accounts for a fifth of state revenues, has collected P235.6 billion, inching up by 1 percent from last year, Treasury data showed. 

It is tasked to collect P436.59 billion this year.