AIRCARGO FORWARDERS OF THE PHILS., INC (AFPI ... - FAPAA

PHILIPPINES Country Report
Page 10 of 12
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CONTAINER SECURITY FEES:
By virtue of Executive Order no. 592 dated December 15, 2006, the Bureau of
Customs imposed upon import shipments the payment of Container Security Fee
(CSF) amounting to US$ 50.00 and US$ 25.00
for every 40-footer and 20-footer container, respectively. Upon strong and united
opposition by the Port Users Confederation, of which AFPI, PISFA and other
associations are members, the Bureau of Customs acceded to the demands of the
stakeholders and reduced the CSF to US$ 10.00 and US$ 5.00 per 40’ and 20’
respectively.
The CSF is the amount charged for every container of goods being imported to
recover the fees to purchase, operate and maintain the x-ray machines installed at
the Manila ports to scan shipments before release from the BOC.
INTERCOMMERCE NETWORK SERVICES, INC.:
The Bureau of Customs has issued an Administrative Order requiring the
electronic submission of advanced manifests prior to the arrival of shipment, In
line with the requirement, InterCommerce Network Services Inc., an eCommerce
Service company providing EDI, value added network services, application
development and systems integration solutions and services, proposed with the
AFPI to serve as its partner in the implementation of the BOC-required advanced
manifest when airfreight shipments are made to submit the said manifests. Under
the proposed arrangement, all airfreight forwarders needing to connect with the
BOC through InterCommerce, a Value Added Service Provider (VASP) which is
presently the only accredited VASP by the BOC, will first have to be endorsed by
AFPI, which in turn will serve as the payment center for the service charges in the
manifest submission.
Without AFPI’s endorsement, InterCommerce will not accept the lodging of
advanced manifest by an airfreight forwarder. For AFPI’s endorsement and
collection efforts, the Association will earn a share of the service fees.