The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Account Management Office (AMO) facilitated the accreditation of importers and brokers at the same time revoked accreditation of non-compliant importers during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from March 17 to May 31, 2020.
During the period, the BOC said it accredited 1,226 importers and 209 customs brokers and revoked the accreditation of 182 non-compliant importers.
The bureau, however, conducted post-validation of the business or office address provided by importers when they applied for accreditation with the customs bureau, according to assistant commissioner and spokesperson Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla in an online update on June 5.
Maronilla explained that validation is important, especially during the pandemic when BOC has been implementing “extraordinary measures to speed up the process” of releasing shipments. He said validation makes sure the accredited importers are legitimate or are individuals taking advantage of eased importation rules—particularly for medical supplies and equipment—while the country is under a state of public health emergency.
He said BOC’s Intelligence Group, together with the Philippine Coast Guard and Armed Forces of the Philippines, have taken advantage of less road traffic during the ECQ period to inspect the business or office address provided by importers.
He noted that BOC inspectors, considering that majority of businesses were closed during the ECQ period, only checked if the importer’s office is registered with the building or have proper signage.
Non-compliant importers—majority of which had no business signage or were not registered with the building—were notified through electronic mails by AMO after the inspection and their accreditations were revoked.
BOC said as of June 5, 25 importers have requested for re-inspection and 16 were already re-inspected. Of the 16 importers, 12 importers have had their accreditations reactivated upon full compliance.
