BoC Commissioner John Phillip P. Sevilla yesterday said in a briefing that importers, brokers and customs inspectors can now access a “Regulated Imports List” on its Web site which identifies all products that are regulated, the agencies that are mandated to regulate it, the requisite permits and the procedures for getting the latter.

“Our hope is that with this list out there, it becomes much easier for all importers and brokers to know what are the rules. It becomes easier also for our people,” Mr. Sevilla said.

He added this could further cut the transaction time with BoC.

“I suspect that with this list out, we can cut out an hour of processing time. That’s a very rough estimate but that’s one hour times 8,000 transactions every day,” he said. 

Requirements have been organized into three excel files containing identical contents but sorted based on three classifications: by specific product, by broad category of product and by the agency regulating the product.

“We are going to require all our front-liners to use this list as the basis for checking whether the products should be allowed or not. If there is no permit, we would not allow that import to enter the country,” Mr. Sevilla said.

“Starting April 20, Customs will strictly enforce this list,” he added, allowing businesses a two-month window to adjust their delivery schedules.

Based on BoC’s data, a total of 7,422 products are regulated under 61 broad categories. A total of 23 agencies regulate these imports, with 33 types of permits that are required.

Mr. Sevilla said it took them one year to come up with the list, through a series of meetings with regulating agencies as well as with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.

Moving forward, Mr. Sevilla said they are considering similar lists for exports, prohibited imports and requirements in processing certificates of origin from countries where the Philippines has no preferential free trade agreement.

Sought for comment, Henry J. Schumacher, executive vice-president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said: “That will certainly help but the ease of doing business will only improve if requirements are reduced.”

John Forbes, senior adviser of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said in a text message: “We welcome reforms that simplify regulations, make them easier to understand and apply, are applied uniformly in all ports, and reduce paperwork and travel. The government still has a long way to go in this regard.”

As of end-November, BoC collections totaled P331.171 billion, up 17.8% from last year but below the P376.112-billion goal.

Mr. Sevilla said end-2014 collections likely settled between P369 billion to P370 billion. -- Mikhail Franz E. Flores

Source: Business World Online