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Officials of the Bureau of Customs and ARISE Plus Philippines Project recently met to discuss activities that bolster trade facilitation
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Programs and technical aid for implementation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement were discussed
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The meeting focused on key emerging trade facilitation areas, including Authorized Economic Operator and e-commerce clearance and taxation
Bureau of Customs (BOC) and ARISE Plus Philippines Project officials recently met to discuss activities and technical aid to implement the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
The meeting focused on key trade facilitation areas: Integrated Risk Management (IRM); Authorized Economic Operator (AEO); E-commerce clearance and taxation; and implementation of the Philippine Trade Facilitation Committee (PTFC).
The activities fall under Year 3 Work Plan of the ARISE Project covering March 2023 to February 2024.
The ARISE Plus Philippines Project is a four-year project, with the Department of Trade and Industry as the lead partner, together with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, BOC, Department of Science and Technology as well as the private sector.
It is funded by the European Union with the International Trade Centre as the technical agency for the project.
Under its Year 2 Work Plan, the BOC and ARISE Project conducted a series of consultative sessions with the BOC e-Commerce Technical Working Group for the development of a draft Customs Administrative Order and Customs Memorandum Order on e-commerce.
In addition, sessions dedicated to the discussion and line-by-line review of the BOC-PHLPost (Philippine Postal Corporation) Memorandum of Agreement were also conducted, resulting in the development of a draft MOA.
Meantime, the Interim AEO Office and the Risk Management Office are working with ARISE Plus Philippines to finalize inter-agency sharing guidelines for the IRM and AEO programs.
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Authorized Economic Operator program guidelines issued
A gap analysis for the ASEAN AEO Mutual Recognition Agreement is also underway to help BOC implement a dynamic AEO program, including the participation of the Trade Regulatory Government Agencies (TRGAs) and the economic operators.
A series of information campaigns are likewise in the pipeline to expand awareness of the trading community, TRGAs, and PTFC to further support the readiness of the BOC to comply with international commitments.
