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The Bureau of Customs is reconfiguring its system to reflect importers’ three-year accreditation in their Certificate of Accreditation, which currently may still show only a one-year validity
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BOC Assistant Commissioner Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla assured importers that accreditation is already valid for three years in the system, even though the generated certificate has yet to reflect this
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New certificates will be issued once reconfiguration is complete
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The three-year accreditation validity took effect under Customs Administrative Order No. 01-2026, which also revised fees, introduced annual reportorial requirements, and updated criteria for automatic renewal
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is reconfiguring its system to reflect the three-year accreditation of importers in their Certificate of Accreditation.
BOC Assistant Commissioner Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla, speaking at the recent 2nd Stakeholders’ Summit of the United Portusers Confederation of the Philippines, said he has instructed the system reconfiguration to reflect the extension of importers’ accreditation validity from one year to three.
He assured stakeholders that while the Certificate of Accreditation generated by the system may still show a one-year validity, importers’ accreditation is already valid for three years on the back end. “That’s a matter of… appearance in the certification, but in the system, (that’s already) three years,” Maronilla said, adding that BOC will issue new Certificates of Accreditation reflecting the three-year validity once the system reconfiguration is complete.
He noted that BOC continues to issue certificates despite the pending reconfiguration because some importers already require the document for permit applications with other government regulatory agencies.
BOC extended the validity of importer accreditation from one year to three years last April through Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 01-2026, which amends and adds provisions to CAO No. 07-2022, the bureau’s existing guidelines on importer accreditation.
READ: 3-year importer accreditation takes effect under new BOC rules
Among the key changes, CAO No. 01-2026 revises requirements for first-time applicants, expanding the list of principal and responsible officers, and introducing a new Affidavit of Undertaking covering annual reportorial compliance and the reporting of changes in business circumstances. With the extended validity, the fee for new application and renewal has also increased, from P2,000 per year to a flat P5,000 for the three-year period.
The order further requires accredited importers to submit an Annual Reportorial Compliance (ARC) within 30 days of their accreditation anniversary date, summarizing all updated business documents or information for the year, including compliance under Section 8.4 of CAO No. 07-2022 on reporting changes in business information. Importers with no changes to report during the period must still indicate this in their ARC.
The new CAO retains the option for automatic renewal of accreditation but revises the eligibility requirements. Importers holding a valid Certificate of Accreditation may now qualify for automatic renewal if they have maintained continuous accreditation for six consecutive years immediately preceding renewal with no history of suspension, revocation, or cancellation, or if they are accredited as an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) or under the Super Green Lane (SGL) program.
Previously, automatic renewal carried no minimum accreditation period or trade facilitation program requirement, though importers still needed to have no outstanding liabilities, no pending case or investigation with BOC, and no warrant of seizure and detention issued against their shipments.
READ: BOC streamlining AMO system for importers, customs brokers
