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Customs Memorandum Order No. 32-2021 provides rules on the implementation of the electronic advance ruling system (e-ARS) for valuation and for rules of origin (RO)
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The e-ARS is a web portal for electronic submission of application and supporting documents for advance ruling on valuation and RO of shipments
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has issued rules on the implementation of the electronic advance ruling system (e-ARS) for valuation and for rules of origin (RO).
The e-ARS is a web portal that allows electronic submission of application and supporting documents for advance ruling on valuation and RO of shipments.
Under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 32-2021, the implementation of the e-ARS aims to encourage the use of an electronic application for advance ruling on valuation and RO, in line with BOC’s thrust to re-engineer its systems and processes towards trade facilitation.
Dated September 10, 2021, CMO 32-2021 implements Customs Administrative Order No. 03-2016, which covers the establishment of an advance ruling system for customs valuation methodology and for preferential and non-preferential RO.
READ: New PH Customs order implements advance ruling system
CMO 32-2021 takes effect five days from publication on the BOC website.
Advance ruling is an official written and binding ruling issued by the Customs commissioner that provides the requesting person with an assessment of treatment to be applied on a certain element of customs value or RO prior to an import or export transaction for a specific period. Advance ruling is now part of the law under Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Under CMO 32-2021, the Imports and Assessment Service will establish and implement the e-ARS on valuation, while the Port Operations Service will establish and implement the e-ARS on RO.
The non-refundable advance ruling fee is P1,500 per request, to be paid through the Land Bank of the Philippines, any authorized agent banks, or payment platforms as may be approved by the Customs commissioner.
The requesting importer, exporter, or authorized agent may access the e-ARS via the website https://ars.customs.gov.ph and select the type of application, either for valuation or RO.
Once the electronic filing is successful, it will be assigned a unique system-generated ticket number which the requesting person will use to track status of his application. The e-ARS will automatically assign, queue or route the advance ruling applications to the technical support team’s pool of officers for either advance ruling for valuation or advance ruling for RO to ensure applications are evenly distributed between officers for each type of application.
Once the advance ruling decision is signed or approved by the Customs commissioner, the requesting person will be notified via email.
If application for advance ruling is denied, the requesting person may file for reconsideration within 15 calendar days from receipt of the ruling or decision.
The requesting person may also, within 30 calendar days from receipt of the denial of the motion for reconsideration, appeal the adverse ruling to the Court of Tax appeals.
If no motion for reconsideration is filed, the period to file an appeal will be reckoned from receipt of the decision denying the application for advance ruling. – Roumina Pablo
