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Pursuant to Executive Order No. 354 dated 29 March 1989 which authorizes the importation of second-hand passenger buses as an exception to Memorandum Order No. 157 dated 09 February 1988 and Executive Order No. 782 dated 13 March 1982 and in line with the clamor of bus operators to increase/improve their existing transport fleet, the Inter-Agency Committee on Used Trucks and Engines, in coordination with other government agencies/private institutions, decided during its 22 July 1992 meeting, to reopen the Bus Importation Program, the guidelines of which shall be as follows:

SECTION 1.       Basic Conditions for Importation. —

1.1    Only the following shall be allowed for importation:

1.1.1    Used completely built-up (CBU) passenger buses with rated gross vehicle weight (GVW) greater than 12 tons, of models not more than ten (10) years from the date of arrival reckoned from the date of first registration in the foreign country.  Said buses shall be referred to in these Guidelines as "used buses".

1.2    Imported used buses shall be subject to pre-shipment inspection and valuation by the duly designated pre-shipment inspection company to determine compliance with the pertinent requirements specified in the covering import authority issued by the IAC-UTE.

1.3    Importations of used buses under any mode of payment including no-dollar importations shall be subject to the provisions of these Guidelines.

1.4    Importation of used buses under this reopened Program shall be allowed starting November 1992 until such time that the requirement of the Transport Industry per LTFRB's recommendation and IAC-UTE's confirmation, has been fully met.

SECTION 2.       Volume of Importation. —

2.1    Initially, a total of 3,500 units for the whole country may be allowed for importation which shall be subject to the payment of applicable taxes and duties.

2.2    The number of units of used buses that each franchise holder applicant may be authorized to import shall not exceed the number of units authorized by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

SECTION 3.       Qualified Importers. —

3.1.   Only qualified bona fide franchise holders of public transport buses duly registered with the LTFRB are allowed to import used buses under this Program.

SECTION 4.       Import Procedures. —

4.1    Prior authorization from the Inter-Agency Committee on Used Trucks and Engines (IAC-UTE) shall be required for all applications shall be undertaken by the IAC-UTE Secretariat.

4.2    The application for importation shall be filed with the IAC-UTE Secretariat (or with the nearest DTI Regional Office), using the prescribed application form and with the processing fee payable to the DTI c/o BIS.  The duly accomplished application forms shall be submitted together with the following documents:

4.2.1    Four (4) copies of the proforma invoice from the supplier indicating the following information: commodity code, quantity, unit price, total value, terms of payment, gross vehicle weight, year model, type and/or brand of the bus;

4.2.2    Notarized undertaking executed by the company (principal) and duly authorized representative on their compliance with the conditions for importation; and

4.2.3    Certificate of Eligibility or Certification issued by the LTFRB specifying the number of units authorized as well as the approved routes.

4.3    The Certificate of Authority to Import issued shall be valid for a period of sixty (60) days reckoned from the date of issuance of the Certificate and cannot be extended nor renewed, without prejudice to re-application should the Import Authority expires unutilized.  This import authority will be used as the basis for the importer to transact with his authorized agent bank as per Central Bank Circular 1348 dated 19 June 1992 on the mode of import arrangements (i.e. Letter of Credit (L/C), Documents Against Payment (D/P), Direct Remittance, Open Account (O/A) in specific cases).  In the case of self-funded importation (No-Dollar Imports), the Authority which is directly addressed to the importer, shall be used to transact business with the SGS and Bureau of Customs.

4.4    Except for requests for amendment/s on the authorized importation (i.e. change in the name of supplier, commodity description, authorized agent bank, number of units, value, terms of payment) which will require prior clearance/authority from the IAC-UTE, all other importation transactions (i.e. extension of validity of L/C, issuance of release of certificates upon arrival of the shipment and submission to the bank of required documents) shall be undertaken directly by the importer with his Authorized Agent Bank.

SECTION 5.       Mode of Shipment. —

5.1    The use of Philippine Flag Vessel is hereby required under P.D. 1466 dated 11 June 1978 for the following importations:

5.1.1    By government offices or instrumentalities or corporations whereby payments are made or will ultimately be made whether directly or indirectly, from funds of such government offices or instrumentalities or corporations

5.1.2    By private entities or persons who were granted loans or credit or when their obligations are guaranteed by the government or its financial institutions or when payments of the freight shall be made from the proceeds of such loans, credit, or guaranteed loan or credit

5.2    The requirement on the use of Philippine flag vessels as prescribed under P.D. 1466 may be waived by the Philippine Shippers' Bureau (SHIPPERCON) in accordance with the instances enumerated in Section 11 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations for P.D. 1466 dated 27 November 1992.

5.3    Importations funded from other sources are not covered by this provision.

SECTION 6.       Penalties. —

6.1    Violation of any of the provisions of these Guidelines and conditions imposed on import approvals, shall constitute sufficient cause for the imposition of appropriate disciplinary measure/s such as blacklisting of importer/foreign supplier, and/or suspension/revocation of the firm's import authority, as well as penalties provided under the pertinent provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code including seizure proceedings, without prejudice to other sanctions imposed under the Revised Penal Code and other laws.

SECTION 7.       Registration Procedures. —

7.1    The franchise holder-importer shall effect registration of the imported units under his name, within ninety (90) days from the date of the units' release from the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

7.2    Transfer of ownership of the imported units can only be allowed if the buyer is a bona fide franchise holder as certified by the LTFRB.

7.3    The LTO shall transmit to the IAC-UTE Secretariat within fifteen (15) days from the date of registration a copy of the vehicle's certificate of registration for notation.

SECTION 8.       Review of the Guidelines. —

8.1    The IAC-UTE shall coordinate and supervise the implementation of these Guidelines and shall continuously review pertinent policies and procedures to ensure its conformity with the existing government policies.

SECTION 9.       Effectivity. — These Guidelines which supercede the guidelines of 30 August 1989, shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following their publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the country.

Adopted: 17 May 1993

(Sgd.) TOMAS I. ALCANTARA
Undersecretary of Trade and Industry
IAC-UTE Chairman