To curb abuse, BOC mulls changes in transshipment rules

To prevent the abuse and misuse of procedures, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is mulling changes in transshipment rules, BOC Commissioner Angelito Alvarez said Friday. The BOC legal service is now determining if there is legal basis to require that transshipment cargoes be processed, assessed, and paid for at their ports of discharge, Alvarez said in a statement. He noted that the proposed changes will cover cargoes declared “under consumption entries." The BOC commissioner explained that “while transshipment is one of the trade facilitation practices being implemented in all customs administrations in the world, its disadvantages to the government far outweigh the benefits it provides to importers and brokers." The Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines allows transshipment, the process of moving imported cargoes from their original ports of discharge to their final ports of destination. Alvarez said the practice has been that “the port of discharge allows the transshipment of containers to the port of destination where the consumption entry will be filed and assessment of duties and taxes will be made." “Transshipment transactions have become a marketing tool for Customs collection districts who are forced by circumstances to attract the patronage of as many customers as they could get because of their district’s need to meet high collection targets," Alvarez explained. — PE/VS, GMA News