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A PORT
users’ group, which earlier called for reduced container
scanning charges, raised its rate estimates, indicating
that its earlier proposed fee cut was too low.
In a
document submitted last week to the Bureau of Customs (BOC),
the Port Users’ Confederation Inc. (PUC) recommended
that charges for scanning every 20-foot and 40-foot
metal container should be at $5 and $10 respectively.
While
the proposed rate is more than twice the amount that the
group previously recommended in April, the new figures
are still a fraction of the current fees being charged
by the bureau. The BOC, the government’s second-largest
revenue source, charges $25 to $50 for every metal box
containing imported goods.
According to the group, the new amount, which includes
current cargo figure estimates, will still enable
government to pay for Chinese loans it used to acquire
scanning equipment.
“They
based their computations on the numbers that the BOC
uses,” Customs Deputy Commissioner Alexander Arevalo
explained on Thursday. While he refused to comment on
the proposal, Arevalo said that the document will be
sent to the Custom Commissioner’s office for transmittal
to the Department of Finance.
Earlier,
the government disputed the PUC’s previous figures when
it proposed that containers should be levied a fee of
only $2 to $4.
In the
same recommendation, the PUC maintained that government
should only install only 10 scanners to be placed at the
major gateways currently being developed by the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). However, the proposal
contradicts an initiative by the bureau to put up 20
additional scanning equipment at the country’s sea and
airports.
Two
scanners have already arrived in
Manila,
which forms part of the rollout’s second phase. The rest
are expected to come within the next few months.
Ten
container scanners have been installed at the Port of
Manila, the Manila International Container Port, and
facilities in
Cebu, Subic Bay, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and
Davao.
Last
week, a technical working group was created to study the
fees and how these are collected.
Port
users claimed that exporters located at economic zones
have been forced to pay the said fees twice—first when
the shipment arrives at the country’s gateways, and
second once the cargoes reach the ecozone.
According to Executive Order 592, which outlined the $25
and $50 charges, three-fourths of the fee proceeds would
be used to pay the loan, while the remaining one-fourth
will be allotted for equipment maintenance.
However,
queues at the customs bureau began to build up after the
government split fee payments into two—one for loan
payments and the other for the maintenance allotment. |
