DOF: Customs reforms hinge on crucial bill

FINANCE officials on Tuesday said that they would push for the speedy passage of the proposed customs modernization and tariff act to sustain the reforms being implemented at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said that, once legislated, the measure would “institutionalize and consolidate reforms in what would be the most improved national government agency in terms of collections growth.”

Last year, customs collections of import duties and other taxes jumped by 21 percent to P369.3 billion. Although the figure was a tenth lower than the P408.1-billion goal, it was still the fastest growth rate among all revenue agencies.

Customs Commissioner John Phillip P. Sevilla attributed the robust increase in 2014 to “painstaking reforms and plenty of hard work.”

“But our work is far from over,” Sevilla said. The proposed customs modernization and tariff act “will etch further reforms into law and enable us to institutionalize the ongoing transformation of the Bureau of Customs into an efficient and responsive revenue agency.”

Also, Finance Undersecretary Carlo A. Carag said the agency’s strong collections growth last year “demonstrates the effective power of reform under the leadership of Commissioner Sevilla.”

Hence, he added, approving the customs modernization and tariff act would “further transform the BOC from what was once perceived as one of the most corrupt and underperforming agencies into a pioneer of governance innovation and technology in the region.”

The modernization and policy changes to be institutionalized with the customs modernization and tariff act, Carag said, would allow the bureau to “continue breaking records and delivering results in the years to come.”

Among the additional reforms to be put in place by the customs modernization and tar- iff act are compliance with the Revised Kyoto Convention to harmonize, modernize and simplify local customs procedures vis-àvis global standards; mandating usage of information and communications technologies to enhance not only customs operations but also enforcement; and strengthening the BOC’s risk management system.

The bill aims to exempt from duties and taxes shipments valued below P5,000. It will also exempt relief goods from import dues, as well as expedite their release during calamities.

The proposed law will adopt the principle of an “authorized economic operator”—duly-accredited customs brokers, exporters, importers and forwarders who will be required to submit only a minimal number of documents. It will also “incentivize” highly compliant as well as low risk importers and exporters.

Apart from paving the way toward faster customs processes, the measure would strengthen enforcement by turning into a heinous crime any illegal shipment of goods with an appraised value (including duties and taxes) of over P50 million.