Bureau of Customs Philippines Guidelines on manual release of imports

On the 8th of April 2020, the BOC issued a memorandum elaborating the procedures to manually release import shipments. This comes after technical issues caused the E2M System’s to become unavailable. In an advisory released on the 8th of April, the BOC also apologized for the E2M system’s technical issues and reassured traders that it was putting in resources to bring back the service and stability as quickly as possible. The system was back online by 9th April 2020.

Nonetheless, traders should note the manual release procedures described in the memo, and build the processes into BCP procedures for any future issues faced.

1. If the declaration has already been lodged with the VASP (Value Added Service Provider) before the trader started experiencing technical issues with the E2M system, the Examiner or Appraiser shall uploaded an Order of Payment Form after the declaration has been verified and accepted. The trader will have the choice to make payment of duties via the Landbank of the Philippines of the Collection Division of the Collection District. This can be done by bringing the uploaded from to the landbank or the Collection Division. After payment is received, the Collection District will work with the Port Operator to allow the shipment’s release.
2. If an already paid for goods declaration has a rejected status recorded with the BOC before the E2M technical error occurred, the Philippine Clearing House Corporation will submit to the BOC a list of all paid entries. The BOC will share the list to the Collection Districts, who in turn will authorize the port operator to manually release the shipment.
3. If any goods entries that are yet to the lodged, the trader must both lodge the declaration in the VASP and the CCPS, thereafter following the remediation process described for good already lodged.

Traders in the Philippines can continue to reach out to the BOC through the Customer Care Portal System and other similar facilities for other service queries.