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Port
users and freight forwarders have sought an audience
with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to clarify a proposal
which requires entities facilitating shipments to submit
full-year financial statements before they are allowed
to transact with the government.
According to an industry player, both the Port Users
Confederation (PUC) and a number of air and sea freight
forwarders have expressed their desire to sit down with
BOC Commissioner Napoleon Morales within the next two
weeks as the deadline for the renewal of BOC-accredited
customs brokers looms.
The PUC
is also seeking a BOC decision regarding the financial
statement requirement before end of February as
accreditation proceedings will end by March.
The
source, who sits at the PUC board, said that the group,
along with other practitioners, will try to question the
new requirement, imposed by the Chamber of Customs
Brokers Inc. (CCBI), an accredited organization by the
Professional Regulation Commission. If approved,
submission of a full-year financial statement is
required before they secure a certificate of good
standing.
The said
certification is one of the requirements under the
Customs Administrative Order No. 3 2006-A, the
implementing rules and regulation of RA 9280, or the
Customs Brokers Act.
Since
customs brokers are employed by companies since they do
not have individual statements, the move requires
corporations to submit their respective W-2 documents,
which is a record of taxes withheld from employee
salaries.
The said
law also provides that “no firm, company, or association
may be registered or licensed as such for the practice
of customs broker profession.” CAO 3-2006-A, however,
gave authority to customs brokerage corporations and
freight forwarding firms to lodge customs entries and/or
use their employee-customs representatives to transact
business at the BOC.
“The BOC
should decide on the use of the financial statement. The
requirement is unreasonable and makes it impossible for
brokers of corporations to get accreditation from the
BOC despite recent rulings from the court maintaining
status quo at the BOC,” the official said.
Earlier,
the Professional Regulatory Board for Customs Brokers,
whose members all came from CCBI, had prohibited customs
brokers from being employed by corporations as this will
impair their independence. Although opposed by a group
of logistics companies, it was nevertheless affirmed by
the CCBI. “Why should CCBI be given this power to issue
a certification that prevails over the license issued by
Professional Regulation Commission to practice the
customs broker profession?” the source said. “This
requirement should be scrapped considering the time
constraints in the completion of all accreditation
papers.”
Meanwhile, the issue may spill over to ecozone
transactions since the same customs procedures are
observed at all ecozones nationwide, the source said. |
