MODIFYING THE RATES OF DUTY ON CERTAIN IMPORTED ARTICLES AS PROVIDED UNDER THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF 1978, AS AMENDED, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE PREFERENTIAL TARIFF RATES O…

WHEREAS, the Philippines is a participating country in the approved AICO Arrangement of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc., (Honda) along with Thailand;

WHEREAS,
under the Honda AICO Arrangement, the Philippines (Honda Cars
Philippines, Inc.) will import from Thailand (Honda Automobile Thailand
Co. Ltd.) certain original equipment manufacture (OEM) automotive
parts/components for Honda Civic passenger cars (HS 8703.90 10), and in
exchange, Thailand will import from the Philippines complementary
component parts for the OEM of Honda Civic;

WHEREAS,
AICO Certificate of Eligibility (COE) No. Honda/2000/9(A) was re-issued
on 21 September 2001, nullifying AICO Certificate of Eligibility No.
Honda/2000/9 issued on 05 October 2000, in favor the participating
companies in the AICO Arrangement;

WHEREAS,
in consonance with Articles 5 and 7 of the Basic Agreement of the AICO
Scheme, participating companies in the approved Honda AICO Arrangement
shall qualify for 0-5% preferential tariff rates to be extended Thailand
and the Philippines for Honda as participating countries, effective
within 45 days from the date of issuance of the Certificate of
Eligibility by the ASEAN Secretariat.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Philippines, pursuant to the powers vested in me under Section 402 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended, do hereby order:

SECTION 1.   The
articles specifically listed in Annex “A”^[1] hereof, as classified
under Section 104 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended,
shall be accorded the AICO rate of 5% on parts/components of Honda Civic
passenger cars as specified in Column 6 thereof.

SECTION 2.   The
AICO rate provided in Annex “A” hereof, as classified under section 104
of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended, shall be accorded
to the AICO entity in Thailand (Honda Automobile Thailand Co. Ltd)
effective 21 September 2001.

SECTION 3.   In
the event that any subsequent changes are made in the basic (Most
Favored Nation) Philippine rate of duty on any of the articles listed in
Annex “A” to a rate lower than the AICO rate prescribed in Column 6 of
Annex “A”, such articles shall automatically be accorded the
corresponding reduced rate of duty.  Effective 01 January 2003, the final CEPT rate on the article shall apply.

SECTION 4.   Upon
the effectivity of this Executive Order, the articles specifically
listed in the aforesaid Annex “A” which are entered or withdrawn from
warehouses in the Philippines for consumption shall pay the applicable
AICO preferential tariff rate specified under Section 1 hereof, subject
to qualification under the Rules of Origin for the CEPT, as evidenced by
the Certificate of Origin-Form “D”.

SECTION 5.   Any
revision/s to the part numbers appearing in Column 4 of Annex “A” shall
be communicated immediately to the Bureau of Customs by the Board of
Investments within five (5) days after receipt of the official copy of
the revised part numbers from the ASEAN Secretariat.

SECTION 6.   The
Secretary of Finance in consultation with the National Economic &
Development Authority (NEDA) shall issue the appropriate guidelines to
implement and rationalize the preferential tariff privilege herein
granted.

SECTION 7.   This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

Adopted: 18 March 2002

By the President:

(SGD.) ALBERTO G. ROMULO
Executive Secretary