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The Sugar Regulatory Administration has placed on hold an order regulating imports of sugar substitutes
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The suspension was in response to industry stakeholders’ concerns regarding possible disruptions and higher prices for consumers
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Sugar Order 6, among others, required companies to secure permits and pay fees to import sugar substitutes
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Stakeholders worried about processing delays and the cost of compliance
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has placed on hold an order regulating imports of sugar substitutes in response to industry stakeholders’ concerns on processing delays and higher cost of compliance.
Among others, SO 6 requires importers of sugar substitutes to secure permits and pay clearance fees.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said this week they were postponing the enforcement of Sugar Order (SO) No. 6 pending consultation with stakeholders.
He said: “We have received letters and are actively reaching out to set up meetings with the concerned groups.”
He noted the Department of Agriculture (DA) will facilitate the dialogues to address stakeholders’ concerns.
On worries about processing delays due to SO 6 implementation, Azcona said the SRA processes more than a thousand sugar-related import clearances annually, with average processing times of only two to three days.
As to concerns on additional cost, Azcona said the processing fee for sugar imports under SO 6 is minimal—only 0.06 pesos per kilo, or about 0.08% of the total cost of importing other sugars.
SO No. 6 amends SO No. 03 series of 2016-2017 to now include certain “sugars” and “sugar confectionery” under Chapter 17 of the 2022 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) — specifically all “sugars,” “other sugars,” and “sugar confectionery” under Headings 17.01, 17.02, and 17.04 of the AHTN, respectively.
READ: SRA expands coverage of sugar under import regulation
Previously, the coverage of SO Nos. 03 and 04 was limited to “fructose” covered under Heading 17.02 of Chapter 17 of the AHTN.
Azcona said the SRA has been issuing import clearances for fructose under the same 17.02 code since 2017 “and there have been no reports of delays or disruptions to business operations.
The SRA will soon launch an online portal to further streamline the processing of import applications.
SO 6 was issued by the SRA after sugar industry stakeholders expressed grave concern over the reported unregulated importation of certain sugars and sweeteners into the country. Various industry groups had sent letters to the DA and the SRA expressing their apprehensions regarding SO 6.
The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) had written to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Azcona asking them to reconsider the imposition of SO 6, with FPI head Jesus Aranza stating the order was just “another form of red tape.”
As such, it would be harmful to local industries and their hundreds of thousands of workers nationwide.
Aranza said the new order would result in bureaucratic inefficiencies, hike the cost of doing business, especially on the part of Philippine Confectionary Biscuit Snack Food Association members, and increase the selling prices of confectionary products as well as beverages.
