The Bureau of Customs (BOC) allowed adjustments on minor errors, misdeclaration, or misclassification in the Export Declaration (ED) form without having to pay the fines. A fee amounting to Php 5,000 per clerical error and 250% surcharge per misdeclaration or misclassification is still imposed if discrepancies in the ED are fraudulent.BOC identified certain conditions that may not equate to an error provided that documentary evidence is present. Also, considering that the incorrect input of data in the ED is beyond the exporter’s control, as follows:
- 1. Changes in the net weight of the shipment due to the difference in actual volume of the goods loaded vis-a-vis the declared volume prior to loading by reason of cargo handling or cargo measuring factors;
- 2. Changes in shipping details upon the advice (email notification) of the shipping lines, provided that errors in encoding the shipping details are considered inadvertent unless the same are covered by such advice; or
- 3. Any other circumstance which necessitates adjustments to accurately reflect the information required for the export declaration.
Guidelines are stipulated under AOCG Memorandum no. 534-2021; A clarificatory memorandum relative to CAO 1-2020. This directive took effect on 04 October 2021.
The Export Development Council (EDC) commends the BOC for coming up with this clarificatory memorandum. As it would prevent exporters from incurring additional costs which generally affect their export products’ competitivene