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(NAR) VOL. 6 NO. 3 / JULY - SEPTEMBER 1995
[ DTI DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 8, September 11, 1995 ]
REVISED RULES AND REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE ISSUANCE OF IMPORT COMMODITY CLEARANCE
1
Scope
1.1 This Department, Administrative Order prescribes the rules and regulations on the issuance of import commodity clearances to import shipments covered by mandatory Philippine National Standards under the implementation authority of the Department of Trade and Industry, through the Bureau of Product Standards.
2
Definition of Terms
For purposes of this Order, the following definitions shall apply:
2.1 BPS - Bureau of Product Standards
2.2 Certifying/Testing Organization - An impartial body, governmental or non-governmental, possessing the necessary competence and reliability to test and certify products for conformity to the requirements of standards.
2.3 Test Certificate - A document issued by a third party certifying/testing organization to a particular import shipment/commodity attesting that the sampling, testing and results thereof are in accordance with a specific Philippine National Standard or BPS-recognized international/foreign standard.
2.4 DTI - Department of Trade and Industry
2.5 Evaluation - The actual inspection, sampling and testing of a product.
2.6 International/Foreign Standard - A standard developed by international bodies like the International Organization for Standardization, International Electrotechnical Commission, International Telecommunication Union, or by the National Standards Body of a foreign country.
2.7 Import Commodity Clearance - A document issued by DTI attesting that the quality of an imported product conforms to a Philippine National Standard or BPS-recognized international/foreign standard.
2.8 National Standards Body - A nationally-recognized body whose principal function at the national level, by virtue of its charter or national statutes is the development, promulgation, publication, promotion and implementation of national standards.
2.9 Philippine National Standard - Standards issued or developed by the BPS.
2.10 Conditional Release - Document issued to the importer allowing the temporary release of goods from Customs' custody, upon compliance with customs' requirements, while awaiting issuance of the Import Commodity Clearance.
3
Application for Import Commodity Clearance
3.1 Importers of products covered by mandatory Philippine National Standards shall apply for the Import Commodity Clearance with the nearest DTI Regional/Provincial Office, immediately upon arrival of their import shipments.
3.2 Application for an Import Commodity Clearance shall be made in forms obtainable from the nearest DTI Regional/Provincial Offices. It shall be filed in triplicate, together with the following documents:
3.2.1 Packing List
3.2.2 Import Entry
3.2.3 Invoice
3.2.4 Bill of Lading/Air Waybill
3.2.5 SGS-CRF
3.2.6 Test certificate from the country of origin as issued by the national standards body thereof or its recognized testing authority in that same country establishing conformity of the import shipment to the requirements of the applicable Philippine National Standard or BPS-recognized international/foreign standard.
3.2.7 Power of Attorney (in cases where the ICC application is filed by persons/entity other than the importer)
3.3 An import shipment shall be evaluated by duly authorized DTI Regional/Provincial personnel to determine its compliance with the requirements of the applicable Philippine National Standard or BPS-recognized international/foreign standard.
3.4 To facilitate processing of the Import Commodity Clearance the importer shall have its import shipment inspected, sampled and tested at the country of origin based on the applicable Philippine National Standard or BPS-recognized international/foreign standard by the National Standards Body at the source country or its designated accredited testing authority.
3.5 When necessary, shipments that have been certified abroad as meeting Philippine National Standards may be randomly subjected to resampling and testing by BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Offices.
3.6 In the event that random checks of import shipments reveal inconsistencies of the quality of the actual imported products with the test certificates issued in the country of origin, all subsequent import shipments of such products from that country shall be subjected to a per shipment sampling and testing by BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Offices regardless of who the importers are and notwithstanding their certification abroad. This per shipment sampling and testing shall continue for no less than three (3) consecutive shipments, until such time that consistency of the quality of the import shipments with the test certificates issued in the country of origin is reestablished to the satisfaction of DTI.
3.7 All import shipments not accompanied by a test certificate from the country of origin shall be subject to inspection, sampling and testing by the BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Offices upon arrival.
3.8 In tight supply situations, coupled with constraints on locally available testing equipment and the long testing period required for certain products, separate guidelines may be issued by BPS relative to the implementation of Import Commodity Clearance procedures for products. These guidelines should have the concurrence of industry and importers.
3.9 Importers of products manufactured by foreign companies issued the license to use the Philippine Standard (PS) Certification Mark need not apply for ICC.
4
Issuance of Conditional Release
4.1 Conditional release of an import shipment from Customs' custody may be issued by the DTI Regional/Provincial Offices, upon the importer's compliance with Customs' requirements and if:
4.1.1 One hundred percent (100%) inspection and testing of the shipment (e.g. LPG cylinder requalification) is required.
4.1.2 Completion of test will take more than 20 working days due to testing specifications and procedures.
4.2 Pending the issuance of the Import Commodity Clearance, no distribution, sale, use and/or transfer to any place other than the address specified in the conditional release, in whole or in part, shall be made by the importer or any person.
5
Issuance of Import Commodity Clearance
5.1 The Import Commodity Clearance shall be issued on a per shipment basis per Bill of Lading by the DTI Regional or Provincial Director if the imported commodity complies with the requirements of applicable Philippine National Standards or BPS-recognized international/foreign standards.
5.2 Commodities not conforming to the requirements of Philippine National Standard and therefore not issued import commodity clearances, shall not be disposed off in the domestic market in any manner. They must be re-exported to their countries of origin or destroyed by the proper Philippine authorities.
6
Disposition of Samples
6.1 All remaining samples drawn from a shipment for monitoring and testing purposes which conform to the requirements of the standard shall be returned to the importer.
6.2 The importer shall get back his samples not later than two (2) weeks after receipt of the notice to claim such samples from the DTI.
6.3 If the importer fails to claim the samples after due date, DTI shall dispose off these samples in any manner it may deem appropriate, under existing accounting and auditing rules.
7
Fees
7.1 The following fees shall be charged:
7.1.1 Application Form (non-refundable; payable upon issuance of ICC): Fifty Pesos (P50.00).
7.1.2 Transportation, board and lodging costs of assessor(s) during inspection shall be borne by the applicant/importer, if applicable.
7.1.3 Testing Expense/Fee - All expenses and fees (including freight and handling of samples) charged by BPS/DTI or DTI-designated laboratories for testing samples shall be borne by the applicant/importer.
7.1.4 Import Commodity Clearance Fee - Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) for every Import Commodity Clearance.
8
Penalties
8.1 Any violation of this Order shall be subject to the criminal penalties under R.A. No. 4109 and/or R.A. 7394 without prejudice to the administrative penalties under E.O. No. 913, Series of 1983.
9
Repealing Clause
9.1 DAO No. 4, Series of 1988 and all other orders or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Administrative Order are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
10
Effectivity
10.1 This Order shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its publication in two newspapers of general circulation.
Adopted: 11 Sept. 1995
(SGD.) R.S. NAVARRO
Secretary
Recommended by:
(SGD.) RENATO V. NAVARRETE
Assistant Secretary