THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it opened on June 1 a one-stop-shop (OSS) trade facility at the Tipo, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) gate, which reduces a one-day processing time of documents to only four hours.
The facility includes personnel from Customs Enforcement, Customs Clearance, and X-ray equipment to cater to clients’ needs, especially port users.
The OSS facility bureau is seeking to replicate the current one-stop-shop at the New Container Terminal 1 in Port of Subic which was first constructed by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. with the BoC and SBMA in 2015.
“The OSS promotes ease of doing business where BoC stakeholders can switch between counters in processing BoC requirements,” the bureau said.
Due to this, port users no longer need to travel to various government offices to secure their trade documents.
The BoC estimates that the average one-day processing time of documents will be reduced to four hours.
“With the BoC-OSS, importers and brokers can expect shorter document and cargo processing times, thereby improving the overall processing efficiency at the Port of Subic,” the statement read.
The BoC and the Department of Finance has been making moves to reduce red tape in trade facilitation.
Currently, the Department of Finance (DoF) is pilot testing the system called TradeNet, a computerized internet-based system, which will be able to connect Philippines’ single window of trade-related agencies with neighboring countries, as it rationalizes and harmonizes all of trade data for faster processing.
This is because traders, who are required to secure permits from various government agencies before importing or exporting products, may be able to lodge all the necessary documents at a single window.
The DoF expects the system to be rolled out in September. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
