ERC to review MORE application to service Iloilo

By Lenie Lectura - February 25, 2019

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/02/25/erc-to-review-more-application-to-service-iloilo/

The BOC has suspended the implementation of one of its memorandum orders, in line with the implementation of the rules and regulations governing the registration of truckers that do business with the bureau, as there is still a need for further consultation with stakeholders to address all concerns.

In a memorandum issued on February 19, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero has ordered the suspension of Customs Memorandum Order 05-2019 “until further notice.” This CMO outlines the rules and regulations for the registration of truckers working with the BOC.

The suspension of CMO 05-2019 came after its publication on February 13 in a local newspaper that, in effect, calls for its automatic implementation by March 15 this year.

“Notwithstanding the said publication of the approved CMO, there is a need to conduct further consultations with the concerned stakeholders in order to fully address the other related concerns that were not considered in the crafting of the said rules and regulations,” Guerrero’s order read.

CTAP’s Legal Counsel Ryan P. Esponilla told the BusinessMirror that CMO 05-2019, which requires truckers to submit documents for the BOC database, is just duplicity.

“The trucking sectors is already overregulated by the government, from the application for franchise from the LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board], PPA [Philippine Ports Authority] application for PTO [permit to operate], and [now] the BOC’s CMO 05-2019,” Esponilla said. “The requirement under CMO was already submitted with the LTFRB. Thus, it’s only duplicity to require the same to be submitted with BOC. The suspension of the CMO is favorable to truckers.”

The CMO requires truckers to register at the BOC’s Account Management Office (AMO) for those operating in Metro Manila, or with the office of the district collector nearest to its principal place if outside the metropolis. A registration fee of P5,000 is asked from applicants attaching a BOC official receipt upon payment.

Applications shall be processed within five working days by the AMO from the receipt of complete documentary requirements with the registration of the trucker in the BOC shall be valid for three years upon approval.

The CMO’s objectives include the identification of truckers who may be authorized to transact with the bureau in relation to the transport of import of goods, as well as to provide the rules and regulations governing the conduct of their dealings with the bureau and to define their duties and obligations.

Furthermore, the CMO also provides for the gathering of information from the truckers to establish a database for risk management and enforcement purposes, and improve compliance level for trade facilitation; to simplify the registration procedures for truckers; and to provide specific conditions for instances when truckers may be barred from transacting with the BOC.

The customs chief has authority to approve or disapprove applications upon the recommendation of the deputy commissioner of the intelligence group of the BOC.

“It’s [suspension of CMO 05-2019] a big help for the trucking industry,” CTAP Chairman Ruperto S. Bayocot said. “If CMO is strictly implemented, 50 percent or more truck operators will stop their operations [if] they can’t comply [with] all the BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] clearance requirements.”

The suspension of the CMO came at the heels of the request of the Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc. (CCBI) for the BOC to defer its implementation, citing that the CMO “did not undergo the usual public and government consultation before the said CMO was finalized and approved by your office.”

In a letter to Guerrero dated February 18, the CCBI pointed out that although it lauds the efforts of the BOC to regulate the operation of truckers, the organization requests for the deferment of the implementation of the CMO as it still needs to address the concerns of the stakeholders of the bureau.

“While we laud the bureau’s efforts to regulate operation of truckers in the BOC, we would like to appeal before your good office and beg your kind indulgence to defer the implementation of the subject memorandum until the concerned stakeholders are heard and their concerns and issues are clarified in the public consultation, so much so that the implementation of this might affect trade facilitation and impede the movement of goods and containers from the ports,” the letter said.