The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have endorsed the campaign to enroll the Philippines in the ATA-CARNET system of tax-free exchange of sample goods across countries to pave the way for new exports.

PCCI President Edgardo Lacson and BOC chief Napoleon Morales made the endorsement at the recent opening of a workshop on the ATA-CARNET system organized by the World Chamber of Commerce.

ATA-CARNET is a system that exempts from import duties commercial samples, professional equipment and products for display in trade fairs and commercial exhibits. Not covered are consumables, especially food.

The system has been adopted by 66 countries worldwide that includes the Philippines chief trading partners such as the United States, Japan, China and Europe. The Philippines is not yet a practitioner but is looking at implementing this via a bilateral arrangement initially with Taiwan.

The other option to implement the system is through accession to the Istanbul Convention which may take a longer time because it will require Senate ratification.

Under the system, only the Chamber of Commerce is allowed to be the National Issuing and Guaranteeing Authority for the ATA-CARNET. To facilitate transactions, it can however endorse other bodies that can be an issuing authority once approved by the Bureau of Customs.

In declaring the willingness of the government to be part of the system, Morales said “it will complement the country’s accession to the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), the global simplified rule on customs administration.

The accession document to RKC is in its final stage of getting ratified by the Senate before it gets submitted to the headquarters of the World Customs Organization in Brussels, Belgium.

Accession to ATA-CARNET undergoes a simpler process, resource speakers from the International Chamber of Commerce explained. It only requires a letter of intent from the head of state in a non-member country accompanied by a firm commitment by the biggest business organization or chamber in that country.

PCCI president Lacson said that during this time of crisis, it is extremely important to showcase Philippine products through temporary exports covered by the ATA-CARNET system, for the recovery of battered export industry.