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TOKYO has approved a program, which will provide technical
assistance and a grant for the Bureau of Customs (BOC)
which will create a massive database system. Besides
helping expedite its transactions, the said program
would enable the bureau to make better use of
statistics, data, and other information useful in
determining how much it should collect in annual taxes
and duties.
The said
program will also allow the agency to access information
from 50 other government agencies, an additional 10 from
the earlier 40 state offices which import goods on a
regular basis.
A
Customs official told reporters Wednesday that the
$10-million grant, to be disbursed by the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is the first
time that Tokyo agreed to give both a technical
assistance and grant to the country.
The said
project, which began in January 2005 with the arrival of
a JICA assessment mission, already received approval
from the National Economic Development
Authority-Investment Coordination Committee, according
to Customs Commissioner Alexander Arevalo.
Among
other information to be collected include background
data on all Customs personnel, brokers that deal with
Customs, shippers, shipping companies, and all
individuals which transact with the bureau, the national
government’s second-largest revenue source.
Arevalo
said that the agency would also include all the data
captured by the nonintrusive container inspection
system.
“If you
have accurate information, you will know what to do
next,” he said.
Estimates indicate that the agency should have collected
at least P450 billion a year had it not been for illegal
activities in Philippine ports, including misdeclaration
of shipments and technical smuggling. |
