Philippines: Import accreditation aligned with BIR permit
BOC Secretary Alberto D. Lina, keynote speaker in Thursday's opening of the three-day Mindanao Exporters Congress (MEC) 2015 at the SMX Convention Center, said that a Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) will soon be signed and validated in a bid to align the BOC import accreditation with that of BIR's Importer's Clearance Certificate (ICC).
As part of the new accreditation process implemented by the Department of Finance (DOF) last year, importers need to seek BIR clearance first before filing for BOC accreditation. The ICC given by the BIR are valid for three years.
While BOC accreditation is a one-time transaction, importers need to submit requirements every year to BOC to make sure they are still operating.
"The process now is once the importer already secured its ICC with the BIR which has a validity period of three years, PhilExport will then endorse the importer to us (BOC) then we will automatically accredit them with three years import validity to be able to align us for BIR," Lina said.
Stephen Antig, president of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), this move is a welcome development for the import-export industry.
"It is a welcome development because it can help in a way, it will lessen the cost of importers, even PBGEA are importing some materials for our export products," Antig said adding that they are also looking for the export accreditation validity extension.
Source: sunstar.com.ph
