BOC, PEZA to intensify ties in trade facilitation

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement to strengthen their collaboration in automating trade facilitation in economic zones.

The agreement was signed by Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña and PEZA Director-General Charito Plaza at the BOC headquarters in Manila.

Among the salient features of the agreement is on automating operations that involve inter-zone transfers of goods to and from economic zones. Covered by the agreement are local sales, disposal of goods in the domestic territory, and transfer of goods to other economic zones and free ports administered by other authorities.

“The memorandum of agreement between PEZA and BOC commits us to work closely towards our goal to improve trade and investment services and revenue growth,” Lapeña said during the signing ceremony in Manila.

Plaza noted the BOC and PEZA will examine previous joint efforts between the two agencies.

“We will be reviewing our joint memorandum orders, then introduce reforms in our systems. And we will combine our modernization programs para mas mabilis, efficient, and effective ang processes and systems sa ating ports,” she said.

In 2001, the BOC and PEZA signed an agreement on programs that would help ease doing business in economic zones.

The BOC and PEZA then issued joint memorandum orders prescribing procedures in obtaining import permits for PEZA economic zones, transit of goods from ports to economic zones, and exports of finished goods from economic zones to ports.

Under the agreement signed on Friday, the BOC and PEZA will review the efficiency and effectiveness of current automated systems covered by existing joint orders and adopt more advanced policies and technologies and other best practices to enhance Customs’ facilitation and movement of goods of economic zone enterprises.