-
The Bureau of Customs revoked the accreditation of 575 importers and 148 customs brokers in 2020 for violating provisions of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act
-
The agency also processed the application of 17,160 importers and customs brokers
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) revoked the accreditation of 575 importers and 148 customs brokers in 2020 for violating provisions of Republic Act No. 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
At the same time, it processed the application of 17,160 importers and customs brokers. Of the total–including new and renewal of accreditation–14,995 were regular importers while 2,165 were customs brokers. The aggregate is 5% lower than the 18,066 accreditations processed in 2019, according to BOC’s 2020 annual report.
In a statement, BOC noted the shift to online application was one of the changes implemented to facilitate the accreditation process. The Account Management Office (AMO), which handles accreditation, also implemented a two- to five-working day processing turnaround time that allowed for more accreditations to be processed.
AMO also reported on efforts to physically inspect facilities and offices of applicant importers to ensure legitimacy of their business and avoid dummy accounts used for smuggling and illegal activities.
The office addresses of 3,745 importers were inspected, 444 of which were found to be non-existent and resulted in denial of their application request.
