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The Bureau of Customs is requiring all international shipping lines to submit a soft copy of their reefer manifest, indicating the temperature of the reefer vans
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The regulation, under Office of the Commissioner Memo No. 43-2023, is meant to “enhance trade facilitation and perform the necessary risk management and analysis needed to effectively perform customs functions” by BOC
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While the requirement entails additional administrative work, Association of International Shipping Lines members said they understand the rationale for the memo and will cooperate
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The soft copy in Excel formal must be submitted directly to the Office of the Deputy Collector for Operations, copy furnished the Bay Service or its equivalent office, of the concerned port
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Submission should not be later than the docking of the vessel to berth
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is requiring all international shipping lines to submit a soft copy of their reefer manifest, indicating the temperature of the reefer vans.
The regulation, contained in Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) Memo No. 43-2023 dated May 18 and signed by Customs commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, is meant to “enhance trade facilitation and perform the necessary risk management and analysis needed to effectively perform customs functions under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.”
The memo requires all shipping lines to submit a soft copy in Excel formal directly to the Office of the Deputy Collector for Operations, copy furnished Bay Service or its equivalent office, of the concerned port.
Submission should not be later than the docking of the vessel to berth.
The requirement is also in line with the letter dated March 3, 2023 by Rubio addressed to Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL), enjoining the group to indicate the temperature of reefer vans in the advance cargo manifests, “as this will enable the Bureau to perform the necessary risk management and analysis before the arrival of the goods and help avert possible misdeclaration of commodities.”
AISL is a group of more than 30 foreign shipping lines calling Philippine ports.
The memo said the new requirement was to take effect on May 22, although AISL only received a copy on May 29.
AISL general manager Atty. Maximino Cruz, in a Viber message to PortCalls, said the “submission of a soft copy of the reefer manifest which includes the temperature setting is a BOC requirement to enhance its risk management capability in combatting smuggling, more particularly of agricultural products.”
He added, “While this requirement entails extra administrative work for international shipping lines, we fully understand the reason behind it and are willing to cooperate.”
