Domestic manufacturers are asking Malacañang to defer for 90 days the implementation of a new revenue enhancement scheme that requires bulk and break bulk cargoes to undergo surveying and clearance at the port of discharge starting January 4.

The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) said more time is needed to adequately prepare all stakeholders that include the local importers and their foreign suppliers so as to “prevent a serious confusion” when the Malacañang-issued Administrative Order No. 243-A on “Bulk and Break Bulk Cargo Clearance Enhancement Program” is implemented.

“It is worth reiterating that we are not against the new scheme and the 90-day deferment is precisely intended to support and ensure the smooth implementation of the program,” FPI president Jesus Lim Arranza said in his letter to Secretary Narciso Y. Santiago Jr., presidential adviser on revenue enhancement and chairman of the Committee for the Accreditation of Cargo Surveying Companies (CACSC).

The FPI’s continued appeal for the deferment of the AO’s implementation was prompted by the concerns raised by its members, including the Philippine Iron & Steel Institute (PISI) and the Philippine Association of Flour Millers (Pafmil), as contained in their letters addressed both to the FPI and Santiago.

Mr. Arranza said aside from adequate information dissemination for all parties to be affected by AO 243-A, local importers need ample time to coordinate and inform their suppliers of the new scheme in view of the typical 90-day lead time between orders and shipments.

And instead of only one company doing the surveying of the shipments, PISI said there should be a sufficient number of surveyors to ensure transparency, required expertise to handle the various kinds of products, and freedom of choice to ensure competitive prices and good service. Currently, Cotecna Philippines is the lone surveyor accredited by the government.
PISI added that sufficient Customs infrastructure should be put in place and tested first before the full implementation of the AO.

Pafmil, for its part, said the implementation of the order on January 4 may cause delays in the discharge of wheat shipments already in transit to the Philippines and may lead to the payment of demurrage charges of around $20,000 to $30,000 per day per vessel. This will ultimately hit the consumers because of the resulting higher cost of flour and bread products.

The FPI is also seeking clarification on these serious practical issues:

Many items, like steel products, are already surveyed at discharge port because of the nature of the product, as a general practice, and out of mutual agreement between buyer and seller. How will the new rules accommodate and allow this established protocol in lieu of the pre-shipment survey requirement?