Bureau of Customs launches ‘bible’ for all regulated products

Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Jessie Dellosa and Zsae Carrie de Guzman of the Bureau of Customs’ Intellectual Property Rights Division (1st and 2nd from right, respectively) inspect counterfeit T-shirts seized from a shipment that arrived from China a few days ago at the Manila International Container Port. (boc.gov.ph)

MANILA — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has created a single reference list or a “bible” of all regulated imports and their corresponding import requirements that can now be downloaded online.

BOC Commissioner John Sevilla said they came up with the master list of regulated products in a bid to make importing process more transparent and faster and to minimize corruption.

“There will be less legwork for importers and brokers as they wouldn’t have to go from one agency to another just to inquire about the permits/clearances needed for importation and at the same time, our front-liners will be empowered as they now have a single reference list for all regulated products,” he said.

“They don’t have to guess what permits are needed for a certain product. They won’t make the mistake of requesting for wrong or unnecessary clearance/permit,” Sevilla added.

The list of regulated imports can now be downloaded by going to the BOC website customs.gov.ph and clicking the banner BOC Regulated Imports List.

The imports list is in three versions: by specific product, by broad category product, and by regulating agency.

Sevilla said all three lists contain information for over 7,400 regulated products ranging from basic commodities like rice and sugar to vehicles, iron and steel products, oil, and electronic goods.

He added that through the master list, the agency is empowering the public so they can transact with them with less hassle and at the same time eliminate any room for corruption in Customs personnel.

“Some importers and brokers would resort to bribery just to make their transactions with the bureau faster, and at the same time, with little or no knowledge of the import process, traders are often victimized or exploited by unscrupulous Customs employees,” Sevilla explained.

The BOC chief noted that it is the first in the history of the bureau that such a list of all regulated products has been created.