BOC goes digital in sharing of customs declaration documents to ASEAN neighbors
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has agreed to share information on arriving and departing goods and other commodities in the Philippines to its regional neighbors, a move seen as an improvement on its digitalization goal.
BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said the Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 26-2022 he signed is a compliance to the Philippine government's commitment to implement the Single Window (ASW) Agreement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN and contains guidelines and procedures for the exchange of the ASEAN Customs Declaration Document (ACDD).
The ACDD is a collection of "information parameters" structured with the ASEAN-set Process Specifications and Message Implementation Guide. It is electronically transmitted using the BOC's ACDD Management Portal, which is directly connected to the ASW System.
"This initiative would deepen the Philippines' economic ties with ASEAN and its digital transformation, enhance the BOC's Selectivity System, open new opportunities for the BOC's ongoing trade facilitation initiatives like the trusted partnership program and risk profiling activities, and speed up the process of clearing import shipments through customs," said Ruiz.
Under CMO No. 26-2022, which took effect on October 5, the exporter may register via the BOC's ACDD Management Portal (https://acdd.customs.gov.ph) and give their consent for the exchange of ACDD data with other ASEAN Member States.
The BOC’s compliance with regional agreements, like the ASW Agreement with ASEAN, gives exporters easy access and creates a database of valuable data for the public sector and the business community.
The BOC will have the ceremonial launch of the BOC's ACDD Management Portal on November 23, with assistance from USAID's ASEAN Policy Implementation Project (API). All stakeholders will have access to the launching event in a hybrid format.