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The Bureau of Customs is setting up a dedicated office to further ease international trade processes
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BOC will initially create the Large Importers Office to directly oversee BOC’s trade facilitation programs, including the Super Green Lane and Authorized Economic Operator
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A permanent unit will be called Trade Facilitation Service, to be headed by a director
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The proposal will be submitted for approval to the BOC’s mother agency, the Department of Finance,
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The new office will be created through an executive order
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is setting up a dedicated office to further ease international trade processes.
The agency will initially create the Large Importers Office to directly oversee trade facilitation programs, including the Super Green Lane (SGL) and Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) as well as other stakeholders, BOC Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group deputy commissioner Atty. Agaton Teodoro Uvero said in a presentation at the 2026 Logistics Summit hosted by the Procurement and Supply Institute of Asia.
The Large Importers Office will serve as an ad hoc office until the proposed permanent unit – to be called Trade Facilitation Service and headed by a director – is created through an executive order and fully organized, Uvero said.
The proposal will be submitted first to BOC’s mother agency, the Department of Finance, for approval.
The creation of the Trade Facilitation Service is also part of BOC’s proposed rationalization plan.
Uvero noted that despite trade facilitation being one of BOC’s mandates aside from revenue collection and border protection, there is currently no permanent office dedicated to that function.
Even the SGL program has no permanent office overseeing it and officers assigned there have functions in other offices as well.
READ: BOC eyes exempting SGL members’ reefer shipments from first-border inspection
Moreover, there are no permanent units handling trade negotiations and coordination with international organizations.
“With the lack of a permanent office [for trade facilitation] at the Bureau of Customs, there is really no unit, no officer just looking at simplifying, harmonizing, looking at the process gaps, inefficiencies,” Uvero said.
He added that normally, regulation is biased towards revenue collection, which “a lot of times, it impacts on the facilitation of trade.”
He noted that while revenue collection and border protection are important, trade facilitation to promote ease of doing business and reduce costs is as important.
The office will be similar to the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s Large Taxpayers Division, which monitors, assesses, and collects taxes from major corporations and individuals to maximize revenue. It ensures compliance through specialized audits, electronic systems, and dedicated taxpayer assistance for high-value entities.
The envisioned permanent office will come with plantilla positions, meaning staff will be permanently assigned to the unit with funding included in the annual budget.—Roumina Pablo
