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The Bureau of Customs temporarily suspended implementation of a new order that essentially allows freight forwarders to avoid penalties arising from late manifest submission
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Technical issues marred implementation of Office of the Commissioner Memo No. 21-2025 which began on March 14
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The issue is targeted for resolution “this week,” according to a BOC source
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) temporarily suspended implementation of a new order that essentially allowed freight forwarders to avoid penalties arising from late manifest submission.
Sources said technical difficulties marred implementation of Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) Memo No. 21-2025, signed March on 11 and which took effect on March 14.
READ: BOC order helps forwarders avoid penalties for late manifest submission
The memo allowed the submission and acceptance of advance manifest even without the corresponding master bill of lading (B/L) or master airway bill (MAWB), provided the advance manifest is in “stored” status and accepted by BOC’s Electronic-to-Mobile (E2M) System prior to the prescribed cut-off period. Upon submission of the Master B/L or MAWB, the advance manifest will be validated by the E2M System.
A freight forwarder told PortCalls the “submission of stored manifest is an getting error response from the E2M system.”
The issue is targeted for resolution “this week,” according to a BOC source.
BOC-accredited value-added service providers (VASP) in their respective advisories informed clients of the temporary suspension.
Freight forwarders welcomed the issuance of OCOM Memo No. 21-2025. Previously, they have had to wait for the carrier (airline or shipping line) to submit the master B/L/MAWB to the E2M before they could submit their AWB/B/L. The situation has led to instances of late manifest submission, resulting in penalties of between P100,000 and P300,000 as prescribed under Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 15-2020.
Forwarders have long complained they bear the brunt of the penalties despite not having control over when carriers submit their MAWB/BL.
Employees/processors of freight forwarders also have had to stay up late at night or at the break of dawn just to wait for information contained in the carrier manifest (registry number) to lodge their (forwarder) own manifest.
Francis Lopez, president VASP InterCommerce Network Services, Inc., earlier said the OCOM memo precisely means freight forwarders may now submit their house AWB/B/L even before the carrier submits the master B/L/MAWB to the E2M.
As a result, freight forwarders can avoid penalties for late submission “which usually happens early morning, when the processor falls asleep while waiting for the master to be submitted to E2M,” Lopez explained.
Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association, Inc. (PMTLAI) president Erich Lingad earlier welcomed BOC’s move and thanked the bureau for addressing their concern.
PMTLAI since last year has been coordinating with the BOC-Management Information System and Technology Group and the VASPs to resolve the issue on penalties arising from late manifest submission.
Lingad said the new policy will allow freight forwarders to submit the manifest as soon as they get the required information from their counterparts, without having to wait for the carriers’ master B/L/MAWB.
The new PMTLAI Board has identified as one of its priorities the resolution of the late manifest issue.
Under CAO 15-2020, a true and complete copy of the cargo manifest, consolidated cargo manifest (CCM), and stowage plan should be electronically sent in advance by the shipping company, non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), freight forwarder, cargo consolidator, or their authorized agents within the following cut-off period before the carrying vessel arrives at the port of entry:
- If the transit time is more than 72 hours, the shipping line must submit the cargo manifest electronically to BOC at least 48 hours before arrival of the vessel. In case of the CCM, it must be submitted at least 24 hours before arrival of the vessel.
- If the transit time is less than 72 hours, the shipping line must submit the cargo manifest electronically to BOC at least 24 hours before arrival of the vessel. In case of CCM, it must be submitted 12 hours before arrival of the vessel.
- For aircraft, a true and complete copy of the cargo manifest should be electronically sent in advance by the airline, air express operator, air freight forwarder, and deconsolidator within the following period prior to the arrival of the aircraft at the port of entry:
- If the port of loading is in Asia, the electronic cargo manifest must be submitted one hour before arrival of the aircraft.
If the port of loading is other than Asia, the electronic cargo manifest must be submitted four hours before the aircraft’s arrival.
For the e-CCM, cut-off times for submission are as follows:
- If the airline submits the electronic cargo manifest on time, the cut-off time for e-CCM submission will be one hour after the aircraft’s arrival;
- If the e-cargo manifest is submitted late, the e-CCM will be accepted without penalty provided that the submission in the customs system will not exceed 24 hours after the e-cargo manifest is registered by the Office of the Deputy Collector for Operations. This same privilege will apply in case the e-cargo manifest is not validated in time due to system errors, late encoding of date of last discharge, force majeure, and other similar circumstances that are not the fault of the airline.
Failure to submit the cargo manifest, CCM and other documents as may be required by BOC within the period prescribed under CAO 15-2020 will be subject to the payment of imposable fines without prejudice to whatever additional course the customs bureau may pursue against the shipping line, airline, NVOCC, consolidator, co-loaded, or breakbulk agent.
Failure to transmit the electronic manifest within the required time prior to the arrival of the vessel or the aircraft at the port of entry will be liable for the following fines:
- First offense – P100,000
- Second offense – P200,000
- Third offense – P300,000
- Roumina Pablo
