REVISED RULES AND REGULATIONS ON ACCREDITATION OF IMPORTERS THEREBY AMENDING CUSTOMS MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 15-2009 DATED APRIL 13, 2009
1.0 OBJECTIVES
1.1 To ensure the effective and proper enforcement of the Tariff
and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended (TCCP) and all other
relevant laws, rules and regulations by ensuring that only legitimate
entities are accredited as importers;
1.2 To update, amend and or supersede CMO No. 15-2009 including all
rules and regulations relating to accreditation of importers issued by
the Bureau of Customs (BOC);
1.3 To guard the interest of the government against abuse of accreditation privileges.
2.0 COVERAGE
This Order shall cover all importers except the following
importations which are exempt from the accreditation requirements under
this Order but shall still be covered by separate rules and regulations,
such as CMO No. 39-2008 on the Client Profile Registration System
(CPRS):
2.1 First and Last Importation for the year;
2.2 Importations by parcel post;
2.3 Importations covered by special laws, to wit:
2.3.1 Importations covered by the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 (RA 7916);
2.3.2 Importations by enterprises covered by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (RA 7227);
2.4 Importations of the Philippine Government, its agencies and instrumentalities;
2.5 Importations by foreign embassies, consulates, legations, agencies
of other foreign governments and international organizations with
diplomatic status and recognized as such by the Government of the
Philippines, i.e. Asian Development Bank/ World Health Organization.
3.0 GENERAL PROVISIONS
3.1 All importers shall be required to file an application for accreditation in the prescribed form as in Annex “A”[*] hereof, which shall be under oath.
3.2 In the case of first time applicants, the application form shall be supported by the following documents:
3.2.1 Mayor’s Permit and Barangay Clearance
3.2.2 BIR TIN Card and/or Vat (or Non-Vat) Certificate of Applicant
3.2.3 Valid ID and Community Tax Certificate (CTC) of the applicant
3.2.4 For corporations, SEC Certificate of Registration, Articles of
Incorporation and By-laws and General Information Sheet as may be
applicable
3.2.5 For partnerships, SEC Certificate of Registration, Articles of Partnership and By-laws
3.2.6 For cooperatives, Certificate of Cooperation issued by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA)
3.2.7 For sole proprietorships, proof of registration with the Department of Trade and Industry
3.2.8 2 x 2 pictures of the applicant with specimen signatures at the back thereof
3.2.9 Audited Financial Statement for the past year, if applicable
3.2.10 BOI Certificate of Registration if applicable
3.2.11 Income Tax of the company, partners, proprietor/owner for the past year, as may be applicable
3.2.12 Proof of ownership or lawful occupation (i.e. Contract of Lease) of the business premises, as the case may be.
3.2.13 Proof of utility billing
3.2.14 Other documents or information that may hereafter be required,
which shall be covered by a supplemental CMO, Office Order or Memorandum
to be issued by the Commissioner of Customs from time to time.
The above documents shall be original copies or certified copies
thereof. The original copies may be required by the Customs
Accreditation Secretariat (CAS) for the purposes of comparison in case
of doubt as to the authenticity of the certified copies.
3.3 For renewal of accreditation, the application shall be supported by the following documents:
3.1.1 Affidavit of No Change of Circumstance (in case there are no
material changes in the applicant’s data and circumstances as
appearing in the previous accreditation)
3.1.2 Notarized Application Form with BCOR
3.1.3 Current Mayor’s Permit and Barangay Clearance
All the above documents shall be subject to the verification/certification requirements mentioned under Section 2 hereof.
In case there are changes in the material information previously
declared and filed (as enumerated under Section 5.3 hereof), the
applicant, in addition to the above requirements except for 3.1.1
herein, shall instead submit an Affidavit of Change of Circumstance
clearly stating the facts constituting the changes, together with the
necessary documents in support thereof.
3.4 In case the applicant is a juridical personality, the
application shall be filed by a responsible officer duly authorized by
the corporation, partnership, cooperative or other similar entities in
accordance with their respective governing laws, charter or by-laws, as
the case may be.
3.5 Any material representation in the application form as well as in
any of the accompanying documents will be a ground for the
disapproval or cancellation of the accreditation as the case may be.
3.6 Any variance between the facts/information in the required
document and the present circumstances of the applicant as well as any
changes in the material information pertaining to the applicant, i.e.
business address occurring before the filing of the application shall
be immediately communicated and sufficiently explained to the CAS.
3.7 Failure to make the necessary notification/correction of the
variance occurring before the filing of the application shall be a
ground for the disapproval thereof or for its revocation if discovered
thereafter.
3.8 All accreditations issued pursuant to this Order shall be valid
for a period of one (1) year, starting from the date of issuance
appearing on the corresponding Certificate of Accreditation.
3.9 Any importer whose accreditation has expired shall not be
allowed to transact business with the BOC. Therefore, all importers who
intend to continue availing of the accreditation privileges granted
hereunder are required to file an application for the renewal of their
accreditations, complete with the documents required under paragraph 3
hereof at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of expiration, as
appearing in their respective Certificates.
3.10 Registration fee amounting to PHp1,000.00 for new applications
and Php500.00 for renewal shall be paid by the applicant to the BOC
prior to the filing thereof with the Customs Accreditation Secretariat.
For purposes of this Order, applications filed after thirty (30) days
from date of expiration shall be considered as new.
4.0 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
4.1 All importers whose Head/Principal Offices are located in Metro
Manila shall file their notarized application form with the Customs
Accreditation Secretariat created under CSO No. 1-2006 as amended by CSO
No. 19-2008.
4.2 All importers whose Head/Principal Offices are located outside
Metro Manila shall file the application with the CAS Satellite Office,
or in case there is no such office in the area, with the Office of the
District Collector Port/Sub-port Collector under whose jurisdiction the
geographical location of the Head/Principal Office of the applicant(s)
is/are situated.
4.3 Upon receipt of the application together with all the required
documents under paragraphs 2 and 3 of Section IV hereof, the Executive
Director, CAS shall immediately assign the same to an inspector, who
shall within seven (7) days conduct the inspection of the business
premises of the applicant for the purpose of verifying the following:
4.3.1 Existence of the applicant in the indicated place of business
4.3.2 Existence of the applicant’s office, plant or warehouse, as the case may be
4.3.3 Actual business operations of the applicant or the impending commencement thereof, as the case may be
4.3.4 Genuineness of the documents presented in support of the application
4.3.5 Other facts material to the application for accreditation
4.4 In the case of applications filed outside Metro Manila, the
inspection shall be conducted by CAS personnel stationed therein. Should
there be no CAS Satellite Office in the area the inspection shall be
conducted by BOC personnel duly designated as such by the concerned
Collector of Customs.
4.5 After the inspection, the assigned inspector shall submit a
report indicating his recommendations on the application to the
Executive Director, who shall immediately assign the same to an
evaluator, who shall in turn determine the following:
4.5.1 Legitimacy of the business operations of the applicant
4.5.2 Completeness of the documents required to be submitted hereunder.
4.5.3 Absence of a variance or misrepresentation of material facts on
the part of the applicant vis-a-vis the documents submitted.
4.5.4 Capability of the applicant to comply with customs rules and regulations
4.5.5 Other risk factors affecting the application.
4.6 The assigned evaluator, shall within seven (7) days submit a
report together with his recommendations to the Executive Director, who
shall in turn determine whether or not to give due course to the
application.
4.7 In the case of the applications filed at the outports, the
assigned inspector shall submit a report with his recommendations to the
concerned Collector of Customs, who shall forward the same together
with his own findings and recommendations to the Executive Director, for
the latter’s consideration and approval.
4.8 All verifications/inspections/evaluations to be undertaken in
relation to the applications shall be concluded not later than fifteen
(15) days after receipt of the application. The period of fifteen (15)
days will not run if any the documents required herein are lacking. In
case of renewal of accreditation under Section 3.3 hereof, the CAS shall
rule on applications within ten (10) days upon completion of all the
documents required. Therefore, upon the lapse of the ten (10) day period
and there is no formal notice of any discrepancy or insufficiency in
the application, the same shall be considered approved without the need
for further action on the part of the concerned applicant.
4.9 However, upon accreditation of an IVSP by the BOC, the
inspection/verification activities mentioned in paragraphs 4.3 to 4.5
and 4.7 to 4.8 of this Section shall be performed by said IVSP.
5.0 SUPPLEMEN TA RY PROVISIONS
5.1 Importer’s Principal Place of Business – An importer
shall at all times keep and maintain a principal place of business where
he shall conduct his business operations. Said principal place of
business shall be duly declared with the CAS and supported with proper
governmental registrations and permits.
In case a building or place of business is being shared by the
applicant with another enterprise, each office space/warehouse, as far
as practicable, must be sufficiently delineated by permanent division
and markers, so as to make the applicant’s office readily identifiable,
as determined by the CAS. In any event, the concerned applicants/importers must justify the sharing and must show proofs that the lessors
and/or building administrators concerned are aware of such arrangement
and covered by proper contracts.
5.2 Misuse of Accreditation Privileges – An importer
shall not use his accreditation privileges for any unlawful or
fraudulent transactions with the BOC. He shall not allow himself to
become a dummy of another importer or person for any unlawful and fraudulent customs transactions nor permit the use thereof, directly or
indirectly, by another importer or person.
5.3 An accredited importer shall, within ten (10) days from the
happening of the event, inform the CAS of any change in the material
information previously declared and filed, such as, but not limited to
the following:
5.3.1 Change of address, i.e. office address and/or warehouse address
5.3.2 Change of facsimile and/or telephone number/s
5.3.3 Change of Corporate Directors and Officers/Partners/Cooperative Directors and Officers
5.3.4 Amendment/s to Articles of
Incorporation/Partnership/Cooperation and By-Laws, as approved by the
appropriate government agencies5.3.5 Dissolution or closure/stoppage of business
Failure to inform the CAS of the above circumstances shall be ground
for the immediate revocation/cancellation of the erring importer’s
accreditation privileges. Moreover, this shall give rise to a prima facie presumption that the concerned importer has knowledge and the intention to use fraudulently his accreditation privileges.”
5.4 Any importer who deliberately files an import entry, knowing
fully well that the corresponding accreditation has expired shall
subject the offending party and/or the imported articles to the
penalties provided for under the TCCP and other relevant customs laws,
rules and regulations, as the case may be.
If found guilty, the importer’s accreditation privileges shall also
be immediately revoked/cancelled without prejudice to other legal
actions that the BOC may take under the circumstances. Moreover, he
shall no longer be allowed to renew the same, unless otherwise provided.
5.5 False and/or Misleading Information – An importer or his
authorized representative shall not file or submit any document,
affidavit, or other paper-known by him to be false and fraudulent, nor
shall he knowingly give, submit, solicit or procure the giving of, any
false or misleading information relative to his accreditation
application. Otherwise, his accreditation application shall be
disapproved; or, if uncovered thereafter, his accreditation privileges
shall be immediately revoked/cancelled.”
6.0 TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
All accreditations issued under CMO Nos. 23-99 and 15-2009 shall
remain to be valid and governed by the same Orders until the date of
expiration thereof as indicated in their respective certificates.
7.0 REPEALING CLAUSE
CMO No. 15-2009, including all other orders and issuances, the
provisions of which are inconsistent herewith, are deemed
revoked/superseded accordingly.
8.0 EFFECTIVITY
This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Adopted: 01 June 2009
(SGD.) NAPOLEON L. MORALES
Commissioner
[*] Text Available at Office of the National Administrative Register, U. P. Law Complex, Diliman, Quezon City