Customs: Less attempts to smuggle cargo this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has recorded lesser attempts on fraud and illegal activities on container cargoes amid its ramped up electronic tracking.

The BOC said it continues to beef up its monitoring of movement and location of containers to secure the transit of imported goods through the intensified implementation of the electronic tracking of containerized cargo (E-TRACC) system.

For August alone, the Customs recorded five alarms in the E-TRACC, which indicate lesser attempts in the commission of diversion and other Customs fraud and illegal activities.

“The minimal number of alarms show that the E-TRACC system is highly effective and a powerful deterrent against diversion and smuggling,” the BOC said.

Upon a reported alarm, BOC’s enforcement and security service conducts necessary investigation and actions.

The E-TRACC system enables the real-time monitoring of inland movements of containerized goods using a technology-enabled system such as the GPS-enabled tracking device to secure its transport to the intended destination. It can also detect diversion and tampering.

The Customs said the E-TRACC recorded some 50,698 completed trips last month.

Of these trips, the bulk or 37,135 were intended for the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. Some 7,361 were for cold storage warehouses.

Others were for Customs bonded warehouse imports and exports, container yard and freight station accounts, condemned cargoes, and for transfer of shipments subject to further verification and monitoring.

The BOC said the E-TRACC system is a vital tool for the revenue agency to identify and prevent illegal activities during the movement of cargoes.

These include erroneous delivery of containers, missing containers, or unauthorized diversion.