BOC workers told: Release goods immediately

A Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu official yesterday ordered all assessment personnel to immediately release imported cargoes and avoid holding importing papers on their tables to prevent the continuation of “tara” system.

Dr. Viviena “Baby” Pumatong, officer-in-charge Cebu district collector, said she wants to ensure the immediate release of goods of importers who pay the correct duties and taxes.

She raised the complaints of customs brokers that some assessment personnel held import entries for days without giving any valid reason, which results in additional shipping and wharfage fees on the part of the importers.

Pumatong said it is illegal for BOC personnel to hold import papers. If there are lacking requirements, they should inform their chief about it so it can be remedied immediately.

According to Pumatong, they will abolish the “benchmark” system as instructed by the BOC commissioner, and all arriving containers with imported goods will be inspected.

The benchmark system refers to the practice of doing away with the physical inspection of a container, allowing some goods to be imported without payment of any tax.

She said the new commissioner equates benchmark with “tara,” a kind of personal tax to the customs officials.

“The concept of the commissioner is that if you have benchmark, that means an importer can put anything inside (the cargo container) without examination because the tara has been set,” Pumatong said.

She added that when she took over last week, she found out that the collection target from October to December 2017 is P6.582 billion, but they have only collected P113 million from Oct. 1 to 12.

Pumatong said that her predecessor, lawyer Elvira Cruz, has collected about 70 percent of the P23-billion collection target for 2017. /