BOC sets rules on cross-border e-commerce goods clearance

• The Bureau of Customs has set the rules on cross-border e-commerce goods clearance procedures

• Customs Administrative Order No. 01-2025 covers the processing, clearance, and release of imported goods to be brought into the country by means of online trading platforms and e-retailer websites

• Under the new CAO, all stakeholders, including e-commerce operators, digital platform providers, e-retailers, value-added service providers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers will have to be accredited by the BOC for e-commerce transactions

• BOC will issue guidelines for the accreditation of the various e-commerce stakeholders, as well as relevant customs memorandum order providing the procedures for the release of e-commerce goods

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has laid down rules on cross-border e-commerce goods clearance procedures.

Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 01-2025 covers the processing, clearance, and release of imported goods to be brought into the country by means of online trading platforms and e-retailer website encompassing business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions as defined in Republic Act (RA) No. 11967 or the Internet Transactions Act of 2023.

CAO 01-2025, signed by Finance Secretary Ralph Recto on January 28, 2025 and Customs commissioner Bienvenido Rubio on December 11, 2024 but only published online recently, is aligned with the World Customs Organization (WCO) Framework of Standards on Cross-Border e-Commerce, WCO Immediate Release Guidelines, and Article 7.8 of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation.

READ: BOC drafts e-commerce clearance rules, seeks stakeholders’ input

Under the new CAO, all stakeholders, including e-commerce operators, digital platform providers, e-retailers, value-added service providers (VASP), freight forwarders, and customs brokers will be accredited with the BOC for e-commerce transactions.

BOC will issue guidelines and procedures and the conditions for the accreditation of the various e-commerce stakeholders.

Only accredited stakeholders will be allowed to use the dedicated e-Commerce Processing System (EPS), which will be established and utilized for clearance and release procedures, as well as for implementation of a risk management system. This is to delineate the procedures to be followed exclusively for e-commerce transactions, the CAO noted.

The EPS will be a simplified and dedicated ICT-enabled system that will enable exclusive processing, lodgment, clearance and release of e-commerce goods classified as Category 2 (low-value, non-dutiable goods), 3 (low-value, dutiable goods), and 4 (high-value goods), of accredited stakeholders.

Pending the establishment of the EPS, BOC may enlist the services of third-party solutions providers.

BOC should also establish and maintain simplified clearance formalities/procedures utilizing the EPS for the pre-arrival processing and risk assessment of cross-border e-commerce goods and provide procedures for the immediate release of low-risk shipments on arrival or departure.

Moreover, BOC should develop and apply a “dynamic risk management structure with advanced technologies that are specific to the e-commerce context in order to identify goods and shipments that present a risk.”

BOC will also explore the possibilities of applying Authorized Economic Operator Programs and mutual recognition arrangements in the context of cross-border e-commerce, including leveraging the role of intermediaries, to enable micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and individuals to fully benefit from the opportunities of cross-border e-commerce.

CAO 01-2025 said there shall be an advanced exchange of electronic data between relevant parties involved in the e-commerce supply chain, including relevant government agencies, to enhance trade facilitation and control measures on cross-border e-commerce goods, taking into account data security, privacy, protection and ownership. For this purpose, BOC will pursue data-sharing arrangements or advance information exchange with digital platform providers and other e-commerce stakeholders to allow risk management evaluation and analysis, as well as data mining and gathering for statistical and post clearance audit purposes.

A true and complete copy of the cargo manifest shall be electronically sent in advance as provided under existing customs rules and regulations.

BOC will issue the relevant customs memorandum order providing the procedures for the release of e-commerce goods.

Freight forwarders accredited by BOC to process and release e-commerce goods will also be required to open and maintain prepayment accounts with the bureau’s in-house bank/cashier to guarantee immediate payment of the required duties and taxes imposable on the e-commerce goods.

The prepayment account will also answer for the amount of duties, taxes, and other charges that should have been collected in cases where mis-sorted or misrouted shipments where not re-exported within 24 hours from arrival or, having been exported when no proof of landing has been presented.

Importations of goods classified as prohibited under RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and other laws and regulations shall not be allowed even for e-commerce purposes. Importation of regulated and restricted goods will be subject to existing laws and regulations of the concerned regulatory agencies.

Certain importations, meanwhile, will not be entitled to processing as e-commerce goods. These include the following:

• Importations declared as “without commercial value”, “of no commercial value” or with specific amount but qualified by the phrase “for customs purposes” or analogous phrases.

• Importations classified under business-to-business (B2B) transactions as defined under the Internet Transactions Act and which are not purchased through an accredited online platform.

• Importations classified under consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions as defined under the Internet Transactions Act.

• Goods including those with de minimis value subject to the requirements or conditions imposed by the concerned regulatory agency, unless for personal use and within the limits allowed by regulation.

• Importations to be entered conditionally free, for warehousing, for transit and/or admission to free zone.

• Other goods as may be recommended and determined by the BOC commissioner and approved by the Finance secretary.

BOC will impose import processing charges on e-commerce goods that fall within the de minimis threshold (P10,000) as may be provided under existing rules and regulations.

Nothing in CAO 01-2025 will affect the right of BOC to examine, detain, seize, confiscate or refuse entry of goods, or to carry out post-clearance audits, including the use of risk management systems. It will also not prevent BOC from requiring, as a condition for release, the submission of additional information and the fulfilment of additional regulatory requirements. – Roumina Pablo