The electronics industry, the country’s top merchandise importer and exporter, has submitted a list of recommendations to reinstalled Customs Commissioner Alberto D. Lina, with emphasis on the halting of regulations implemented by the previous leaders of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) that hurt the industry’s competitiveness.
The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (Seipi) said it is hoping that the term of Lina, who briefly headed the BOC during the Arroyo administration, will signal an improvement in business operations for electronics firms.
“For 2015 alone, the players in the industry were saddled with numerous customs issues that impeded business operations, such as the BOC Stuffing, No Advanced Processing, Suspension of Port Operations during Holidays and others,” Seipi said in a statement.
Seipi President Dan C. Lachica said these customs regulations, coupled with the high cost and poor quality of power, inadequate infrastructure and logistics inefficiency are hurting the competitiveness of the Philippine
electronics industry.
Among the reforms that Seipi wants to see enforced include the streamlining of imports and exports processes for faster clearances, 24/7 operations of airports and ports even during holidays, an electronic system for imports/exports processing to eliminate red tape, transparency in procedures and charges and elimination of redundancies in process and non-value activities and fees.
The organization also wants the BOC to solve staffing issues so that overtime charges of BOC employees in Philippine Economic Zone facilities can be eliminated.
“Commissioner Lina has been a longtime friend of the industry and that he believes and understands the competitive business environment that the electronics companies must operate in for it to contribute to the country’s inclusive growth.
Given this, the industry is confident that the commissioner will consider the inputs of the industry first before enacting any order that has a detrimental impact on the exporters’ operations,” Lachica added.
The semiconductors industry is not alone in its wish to see changes under the leadership of Lina. Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said a revamp is long due at the customs office.
Ortiz-Luis cited the accreditation for import commodity clearance, jointly enforced by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the BOC, as a specific hurdle for exporters that needs to be removed.