Customs brokers up in arms over new requirements

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Customs brokers will stage a work holiday on Thursday to protest a directive requiring them to secure accreditation from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to be able to transact business with the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

May Zapata, president of the Aduana Business Club, said several of their group’s estimated 10,000 broker-members have said they intend to join the work holiday. They have yet to decide how long the protest will last, she said.

The Department of Finance and its attached agencies, the BOC and BIR, earlier issued memorandum orders on the new rules on the accreditation of traders and brokers, including securing a clearance from the BIR as “part of a holistic drive to thwart smugglers.”

New rules 

The new rules will be implemented starting on June 30.

“Everybody wants to comply, but the problem is it’s very difficult to secure the requirements. I hope they would reconsider. We are willing to comply, we just want an extension. They think it’s simple for us to comply with their requirements but it’s actually difficult,” she said.

The requirements include, among others, a certificate of true copy (CTC) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the customs brokerage firm’s registration and a clearance from the BIR.

Zapata said the work stoppage may possibly lead to further congestion at the Port of Manila (POM) and the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

Synergize

BOC spokesperson Charo Logarta-Lagamon said the customs brokers had been given enough time to comply with the requirements stipulated in the DOF memorandum, which was issued in December last year.

She explained that the accreditation’s goal is to “synergize” the records of the BIR and the BOC to strengthen monitoring and auditing and ensure that the government is collecting the correct duties and taxes.

“Through the accreditation, the BIR will be able to monitor the tax payments of the customs brokers. There are reports that some customs brokers are in the habit of under-declaring their professional fees in order to pay less taxes,” Lagamon said.–Tina G. Santos