A furniture exporter is calling for the revocation of an administrative order requiring registration of companies intending to import wood products for re-export.

Nicolaas de Lange, president of Designs Ligna, stressed that the tedious process under DENR AO 99-46 only creates unnecessary red tape that makes the business climate in the country uncompetitive.

De Lange recalled that prior to November 2009, importers did not encounter such problem because the policy “has not been implemented” at the ports for a long time.

“As far as we are concerned, the administrative order (AO) has never been consistently enforced and is now being enforced by employees of the Bureau of Customs who are out to make money for themselves from unsuspecting importers and manufacturers,” he said.

De Lange said they had no recourse then but to secure a certificate of registration from the DENR which also required submission of shipment contract with supplier abroad.

He said the AO also requires companies to pay fees and bonds and submit monthly reports to the DENR before it releases the certificate.

De Lange, also a former trustee of the furniture sector of the Philippine Export Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT) and past president of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, stressed that if the policy aims to monitor incoming wood imports, the DENR can secure such information even in the absence of the AO.

“The DENR does not need a law to achieve this objective. It can obtain this information from existing sources of other agencies such as the BoC or NSO. It could also require reports or copies of import documents without imposing all the stringent requirements it has imposed in AO 99-46,” he said.

De Lange said this situation is putting added strain on exporters especially the furniture industry. “Red tape causes wasted man-hours and unnecessary costs, not to mention the additional costs attributable to corruption, make companies less competitive in the global market,” he said.

“The law should be suspended to relieve suffering companies from the agony they are currently experiencing from certain BoC employees. EO 99-46 can then be reviewed and hopefully be revoked once and for all,” he added.

In a separate meeting called by the Export Development Council to thresh out the issues, the BoC representatives clarified that the possible lapse in implementation happened whenever the DENR representative was absent from its post at the port.