BIR releases fourth batch of provisional importer, customs broker certificates

As of October 2, a total of 5,888 importers and customs brokers have been granted provisional clearance by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Of this, 5,156 were granted provisional Importer’s Clearance Certificate (ICC) and 732 the provisional Broker’s Clearance Certificate (BCC).

The aggregate figure (5,888) is the sum total from four batches of taxpayers with provisional certificates, of which the first batch was released in mid-September.

For a list of the fourth batch, click here.

New accreditation rules under Department of Finance Department Order No. 12-2014 require importers and customs brokers to secure the ICC and BCC, respectively, before seeking accreditation from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for their import transactions.

From the fourth and latest batch alone, a total of 698 importers were granted provisional ICCs while 126 customs brokers were given provisional BCCs valid from October 3 to March 2, 2015.

For importers and customs brokers with provisional clearance, BIR advised the completion of “verification of their compliance at least 30 days prior to the end of the validity period of their respective provisional clearance as importer or broker.”

BIR said it will only entertain accreditation follow-ups from Monday to Thursday, and will only entertain follow-ups or release ICCs or BCCs to representatives with authorization letters from the ICC or BCC applicant. – Roumina Pablo

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