The Bureau of Customs (BoC) has stepped up efforts to clean up customs bonded warehouses (CBWs), which have been reportedly used for smuggling activities, by strengthening the operations of its warehousing unit.

This was contained under Customs Memorandum 34-2009, which called for strengthening of the functions of the Warehouse Coordination Division (WCD) and will ensure that the rules and regulations on CBWs are properly implemented.

The order establishes a central office for coordination and monitoring of warehousing operations including the liquidation of bonded raw materials and subsequent bonds cancellation.

The order is meant to protect the interest of the government against abuses of warehousing privileges, the BoC said.

One measure being adopted by the BoC is by developing the Compliance Rate System.

At present, CBW operators are allowed to import raw materials under a warehousing entry without paying duties and taxes, an incentive allowed under the law for local manufacturers, and pay instead the warehousing bond provided that the imported goods are utilized for manufacture of export products.

However, BOC has found out that some scheming unscrupulous operators are diverting the goods to private warehouses and sell these in the local market.

The BoC has been crafting ways for importers to liquidate their imported materials for reexport in a simplified manner in order by starting off with leaner warehousing procedures.

This also helps unliquidated entries from piling up.

WCD falls under the Office of the Assessment Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG).

Due to reports of illegal activities, CBWs have been converted into industry-specific following an earlier clampdown that reduced their number to about a hundred.