BUSINESSES facilitating the entry of imports have no objections to a recent government move allowing separate companies to validate the authenticity of commercial invoices of all inbound shipments.

In a statement, the Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc. announced that it has supported the move, even if it will add another layer to the already tedious process of clearing cargo since the fees will be shouldered by importers and not by the government.

“The Chamber recognizes that… there is a need to prevent smuggling by safeguarding against under-invoicing and customs fraud, which are primary sources of revenue losses,” the group said in its letter to President Arroyo. “The need to outsource the verification procedure to third-party service providers for purposes of identification, accountability, and monitoring becomes imperative as part of the BOC’s import verification system and modernization.”

The statement comes after licenses of various customs brokers were suspended following the customs bureau’s renewed anti-smuggling drive during the past months, in a bid to achieve its P228-billion collection target for the year.

In effect, the group, through the letter, has also indicated support for the administration’s establishment of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).

According to Customs deputy commissioner Reynaldo Umali, the agency is immediately suspending the license of brokers—which number roughly a hundred—which handled misdeclared items.

Under the antismuggling program, the bureau filed a total of 49 cases involving 219 respondents as of end July.

Executive Order 624 signed last May 21 created the PASG which will mainly “apprehend, seize, investigate and prosecute acts involving smuggling, unlawful importation” and among other similar violations. The said order also mandated the hiring of the third-party checkers.

PASG is composed of agencies such as the customs bureau, Bureau of Food and Drugs, Maritime Industry Authority, National Food Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, Philippine Navy and Philippine Ports Authority.

BUSINESSES facilitating the entry of imports have no objections to a recent government move allowing separate companies to validate the authenticity of commercial invoices of all inbound shipments.

SHIPPERS in the southern part of the country advised the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to extend a special program, which reduced wharfage fees for an indefinite period.

HONG KONG—Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the world’s fourth-largest international cargo carrier, forecast cargo yield to be higher in the second half as demand to carry computer components and auto parts surges.