As of October 28, a total of 11,775 importers and customs brokers have been given accreditation by the Bureau of Customs. This figure represents 78.53% of the total 14,995 importers and customs brokers listed with the BOC since February when the Department of Finance (DOF) issued new rules for accreditation.
Of the total number of 11,775, importers, which also include Philippine Economic Zone Authority locators, accounted for 10,498, and customs brokers 1,277. For the list of importers, click here, and for customs brokers here.
BOC-Account Management Office officer-in-charge Atty. Jemina Sy-Flores told PortCalls the list is a mix of holders of provisional and regular clearances.
The BOC list comes after a smiliar list released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Based on a DOF ruling in February, all importers and customs will have to go through a two-tier accreditation process, first securing an Importer Clearance Certificate (ICC) or Broker Clearance Certificate (BCC) from the BIR then securing a second round of the same certificates from the BOC.
BIR-Accounts Receivables Monitoring Division chief Rosana San Vicente said that as of October 14 they have already received 14,820 applications for ICC and BCC. Of the 14,820, 9,000 applications have been processed, of which about 2,000 were issued regular ICCs and BCCs, while the rest were provided provisional clearances.
San Vicente noted the remaining 5,154 applications—mostly applications that did not meet the criteria set forth under BIR Revenue Memorandum No. 10-2014 (implementing rules of the DOF accreditation order) —will be acted upon by the end of November. – Roumina Pablo
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