The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has issued a memorandum order that imposes a provisional safeguard duty of P3 per kilogram on imported ceramic floor and wall tiles.
The BOC said it issued Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 28-2019 after the Department of Trade and Industry imposed the safeguard duty on ceramic floor and wall tiles from abroad.
“The said duty shall come in the form of cash bonds and shall be imposed in the amount of P3 per kg of imported ceramic tiles,” the BOC said in a statement. The CMO was issued on June 17 and was signed by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero.
“The provisional safeguard duty shall be imposed for a period of 200 days only and shall be applied to specific tariff headings enumerated in CMO 28-2019,” the BOC added.
The issuance of the CMO is pursuant to DO 19-06, Series of 2019, which was issued by the DTI as it implements Section 8 of Republic Act (RA) 8800, also known as The Safeguard Measures Act, as well as the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the said law.
“DTI determined that the domestic ceramic floor and wall tiles industry suffered significant loss in revenue due to the influx of similar products from overseas, thus diminishing the market share of domestically produced products from 96 percent in 2013 to a measly 15 percent share in 2017 and 2018,” the BOC said.
“The determined loss in market share lead to revenue losses for local enterprises, prompting the imposition of a provisional safeguard duty on imported tiles,” it added.
Last month the Philippine Ceramic Products Importers Association Inc. said cheap tiles used for low-cost housing could increase prices by as much as P33 per piece once the safeguard duty on ceramic floor and wall tiles takes effect.
Napoleon Co of the Philippine Ceramic Products Importers Association Inc. said the P3 per kg safeguard duty on ceramic floor and wall tiles will be a burden to property developers.
The DTI imposed in May the P3 per kg safeguard duty on imported ceramic floor and wall tiles to protect local manufacturers.
Image credits: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
