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IN a bid
to speed up the clearance of imported goods, the
government has relaxed some of its rules in
cargo-examination process and streamlined some of the
process but introduced a new “selectivity system.”
According to Customs Memorandum Order 17-2008, which
took effect last week, truck-mounted examination of
selected “red” cargo onboard the trucks has already been
discontinued except for shipments of agricultural
products like meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables that
require quarantine clearance prior to release.
The new
order amended a series of Bureau of Customs (BOC) orders
in 1996 which calls for strict examination of the
cargoes.
“Physical examination of Peza [Philippine Economic Zone
Authority]-bound shipments is hereby discontinued,” the
order said, and added that all shipments will instead be
required to undergo mandatory x-ray inspection.
The new
process also now requires high-risk shipments to be
tagged by the selectivity system as either subject to
x-ray inspection or selected “red” and subject to
physical examination.
“Shipments found to be ‘suspect’ or have image
irregularities after x-ray inspection shall be directed
for 100-percent physical examination in a facility to be
provided by the arrastre operator. For Peza-bound
shipments, the customs examiner assigned in Peza shall
conduct the 100-percent physical examination at the
arrastre facilities,” the order said.
The said
rule only simplifies the systems at BOC after it rolled
out some 30 x-ray scanners, worth $5 million each, since
last year. The rollout of the scanners has messed up
some systems in the bureau of what shipments should be
scanned or examined physically.
As a
result, the BOC’s new ruling said that shipments which
have been subjected to 100-percent physical examination
shall no longer be subjected to x-ray examination.
Special
services or examinations, such as the full inspection
and stripping and stuffing required by the BOC for some
shipments, must be coordinated with the port operator
for scheduling.
“Special
services and examinations will be for the account of the
importer or consignee,” it said.
On the
other hand, physical examination of selected “red”
shipments is prescribed for shipments consisting of
several containers using the “square root rule” and the
selection of container for examination will be
automatically generated by the system. During physical
examination, customs representatives should see to it
that the innermost contents of the container are
inspected, it said.
Customs
Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the move to amend
several procedures is to facilitate the release of
low-risk and legitimate cargoes and reduce congestions
in Philippine ports.
He added
that it is also in line with their plan to further
reduce the number of scanned containers through better
risk management all aimed to facilitate trade in the
Philippines. |
