The Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargoes (E-TRACC) system is proving to be an effective tool in the fight against smuggling as far as the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is concerned.
"The rollout of the E-TRACC on 1 June 2020 in various ports nationwide allowed the Bureau to remotely track, monitor, and audit the inland movement of containerized cargoes," the bureau said in a statement Friday, March 5.
These include cargoes bound for or in transit to customs bonded warehouses, freeport and economic zones, export, and those subject to further inspection such as meat, aquatic and agricultural shipments.
According to BOC, the E-TRACC system has been invaluable in preventing the erroneous delivery of containers, "thus preventing issues on missing containers or unauthorized diversion of the carriers and misdelivery".
"To date, the system has recorded numerous violations such as 699 corridor alerts (deviation from registered routes), 32 security alerts, 18 unauthorized departures, and 84 unauthorized end trips. Corresponding penalties were charged against the violators," the BOC said.
BOC further said the E-TRACC is effective in terms of trade facilitation and ease of doing business. "Through E-TRACC, manual procedure and underguarding of containers in transit were streamlined, thereby saving personnel complement and reducing bureaucratic process," the agency said.
At present, E-TRACC is already in full implementation at the Port of Manila, Manila International Container Port, Port of Batangas, Port of Subic, Port of Cebu, Port of Davao, and Port of Cagayan De Oro.