MANILA, Philippines?It will now be harder to import toys and distribute them in the local market.

This surfaced after the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Health signed an agreement subjecting toy importers to stricter regulations.

Customs chief Napoleon Morales said the two agencies reached an agreement for stricter controls recently after imported toys from China were revealed early this year to have lead content.

He said the agreement was also in anticipation of the influx of imported plastic toys for the holiday season.

The DOH, through the Bureau of Health Devices and Technology (BHDT), will enforce the agreement which, Morales said, seeks to reinforce compliance of importers with guidelines covering such importations.

Under the agreement, the BHDT, which is tasked to monitor and test the products coming into the country, will give Customs a list of products already tested and declared safe for sale to the public.

It will also submit a list of companies issued certificates of conformity or clearance for conditional release, and recommend the issuance of warrants of seizure and detention for offending shipments.

The BOC, for its part, will hold the shipments? release until such time that the importers comply with the requirements of the DOH. Customs officials are also required to give BHDT a list of accredited importers.

Imported toys were previously classified as regular importations, but since excessive chemical content became a global concern early this year, the two government agencies deemed it prudent to set more stringent measures for importation, Morales said.

The BOC is currently monitoring the entry of imported dolls and plastic toys from China, after reports early this year that Chinese toy manufacturers exported toys with high lead content.