THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is proposing a lower fee for the use of a global positioning system (GPS) that would be placed on all containerized transit cargoes passing through BOC ports in the country.
Customs Deputy Commissioner Gregorio Chavez said the stakeholders proposed fees of P700, P1,500 and P2,200—depending on the destination of the cargoes from the BOC ports.
Chavez did not elaborate, but truckers use a rate of 40-kilometer radius from the port as a “near” destination, which has the cheapest rate, followed by destinations within Edsa, and beyond Edsa or those that would go through either the North Luzon or South Luzon expressways as the farthest destination that has the highest rate.
“We are still finalizing the final fee with the stakeholders,” Chavez said.
The implementation of the project, titled Customs Electronic Global Positioning System Equipped Barrier Seal, is expected to replace the under-guarding measure of the BOC to make sure that the transit cargoes will go directly to customs-bonded warehouse or to any locator of the Philippine economic zone, and not to the domestic market.
One of the under-guarding measures is to post a General Transportation Surety Bond (GTSB).
The BOC plans to implement the new measure in September. It started its consultation with the stakeholders, such as the Port Users Confederation (PUC) in June.
“If they [BOC] want it to be mandatory, then the fee should be the same as being charged using under-guarding,” the group said in its position paper.
The PUC members include the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association, Air cargo Forwarders of the Philippines Inc., Semiconductors and Electronic Industries of the Philippines Inc., the Philippine Zone Authority and the Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc.
Société Generale de Surveillance (SGS) is one of the three bidders, along with Cotecna and local firm Tim Corp. to become the service provider for the measure.
The BOC is still finalizing the contract before it is awarded to the companies, but SGS has already started pilot testing the project.
SGS, which was said to have invested around P200,000 for the project, would develop a system and install a device on the doors of the containers to make sure the cargoes inside are not be pilfered while in transit. It would alert authorities like the Philippine National Police when there is any unauthorized opening of the container doors, which SGS said would be a very effective means of fighting hijackers.
The fee to be imposed would be on a per-container basis and would be charged from the port of discharge to the destination. It would pay for the system and the device, SGS said.
The BOC is negotiating with the free port zone in Subic Bay and Clark Field to pilot test the GPS for the transshipment cargoes.
Customs Administrative Order 4-2010 requires cargo owners to equip their cargo trucks with electronic GPS and barrier seals to allow the BOC to track down and monitor cargoes from the customs territory to their destinations.
The order also provides for the collection of a transit processing fee of P1,100 for containerized cargo, P400 for break-bulk cargo and a $5 container security fee.
