THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced on Monday the creation of the so-called bible of all regulated imports and their corresponding requirements that can be downloaded online.
At a news conference, Customs Commissioner John P. Sevilla said it is the first in the history of the BOC that such single reference list of all regulated imported products has ever been done.
Sevilla said the master list of regulated products is intended to minimize corruption and make the importing process more transparent and faster.
“There will be less legwork for importers and brokers as they wouldn’t have to go from one agency to another just to inquire about the permits/clearances needed for importation and, at the same time, our frontliners will be empowered as they now have a single reference list for all regulated products,” Sevilla said.
“They don’t have to guess what permits are needed for a certain product. They won’t make the mistake of requesting for wrong or unnecessary clearance/permit,” he added.
Sevilla pointed out that through the master list, the agency is empowering the public so they can transact with the BOC with less hassle and “eliminate any room for corruption among our personnel.”
“Some importers and brokers would resort to bribery just to make their transactions with the bureau faster and, at the same time, with little or no knowledge of the import process, traders are often victimized or exploited by unscrupulous Customs employees,” Sevilla explained.
The list of regulated imports can now be downloaded through the BOC web site customs.gov.ph and by clicking the banner BOC Regulated Imports List.
The downloaded imports list comes in three versions: by specific product, by broad category product and by regulating agency.
Sevilla said all three lists contain information for over 7,400 regulated products ranging from basic commodities like rice and sugar to vehicles, iron and steel products, oil and electronic goods.
Sevilla said the BOC will strictly implement all the requirements shown in the regulated imports list beginning April 20, 2015.
“All imports of all products in the list must have the required permits, from all the regulating agencies shown in the row for that product on the list before clearance of any import of that product,” he said.
He added that regulated import list will be updated when there are any changes in regulations, such that the version accessible from the BOC web site will always be up-to-date, and will always be the basis for clearance of regulated goods by customs staff.
