1.

TITLE: HIRING CUSTOMS BROKER IS STILL OKAY

AUTHORS: PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER (TVJ)

SOURCE: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/808103/hiring-brokers-still-ok-boc-chief

PURPOSE: To make it clear and known to the public that the Customs Modernization

and Tariff Act or Republic Act 10863 would be faithfully implemented particularly its own

provision favoring the country’s interest. The aforesaid provision therefore does not

intend to eliminate the Customs Broker from the BOC but makes it optional for the

importers and exporters to engage the services of licensed customs brokers when doing

transactions with the Bureau of Customs.

METHODOLOGY: INTERVIEWS

FINDINGS: In a statement, Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said he would

faithfully implement Republic Act No. 10863, the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act

(CMTA) of 2016. He said the BOC would ensure the CMTA was faithfully implemented,

particularly its provisions favoring the country’s interests. Section 106 of the CMTA

states that a declarant may be a consignee or a person who has the right to dispose of

the goods.

The declarant lodging a goods declaration with the BOC may be the importer, the

exporter, a customs broker acting under authority of the importer or exporter, or a

person empowered to act as an agent or attorney in fact. Faeldon urged licensed

groups. He said he was acting pursuant to the law and the BOC would pursue

propeople reforms. “If importers choose to dispense with the services of licensed

customs brokers, the cost of doing business and bringing in various goods and products

would be reduced and this would redound to the benefit of the Filipino consumer,”

Faeldon said.

RETRIEVED: July 24, 2018

2.

TITLE: USES OF CUSTOMS BROKER SHOULD BE OPTIONAL- WCO

AUTHOR: RAZVAN IONUT

SOURCE: https://www.portcalls.com/customs-broker-services-optionalwco/

PURPOSE: This study aims to provide clarity on WCO member countries’ practices in

terms of brokers’ role, institutional framework, regulatory and licensing requirements,

challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned and to further guide members as

mandated by the Policy Commission. It is primarily based on WCO survey results and

research carried out by the WCO Secretariat which includes a detailed analysis of

members’ practices.

METHODOLOGY: Descriptive

FINDINGS: The study shows that fees and charges for customs brokers should neither

be fixed nor regulated by an authority but determined by the market. General oversight
may, however, be required by the government/customs- sometimes together with

brokers’ associations or other private organizations to protect the interest of traders.

The study said that both individuals and companies should be permitted to become

licensed brokers. In case where licensing is required. This is to ensure equal

opportunities for everyone and also to have a wider availability of brokers.

RETRIEVED: July 26, 2018

3.

TITLE: EMBRACING CHANGE AND CHALLENGES FOR THE CUSTOMS BROKERS

IN THE PHILIPPINES

AUTHOR: LIZA ALMONTE

SOURCE: https://www.portcalls.com/embracing-change-challenges-filipino-customs-

broker/

METHODOLOGY:

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to help the citizen of the Philippines especially

to those individual who are affected by the changes that made during the

implementation of the Republic Act 10863 or Customs Modernization and Tariff Act to

embrace change and move forward to what’s coming ahead. Also, to adapt the norms

and to make change management as a way of life.

FINDINGS: People are naturally averse to change yet change is inevitable. More often,

we approach change with a combination of anticipation and dread. But what we really

should do is to embrace change with excitement because of the opportunities it brings

and the prospect of the unknown. In an evolving trade environment where the
Philippines is taking strides to be an active player, a pressing issue confronting the

customs brokerage industry will look like in the future. The CMTA is now a law and the

challenge is how to embrace the change it brings and look for opportunities along the

way. Now more than ever, I believe in the huge value of the customs broker and the

customs broker license. There is opportunity for majority in the customs industry to truly

embrace technology and process improvement, adding more value to what customs

brokers do. The academic preparations and the rigors of obtaining a broker license are

right investments in the future as I see enormous opportunities ahead in trade.

RETRIEVED: July 26, 2018

4.

TITLE: CUSTOMS BROKERS: THEIR VITAL ROLE IN MEDIATING TRANSACTIONS

BETWEEN SELECTED IMPORTERS IN METRO MANILA AND THE BUREAU OF

CUSTOMS

AUTHOR/S:

Catherine B. Pastor

Jaworski G. Nieva

Francis Leonard T. Palomare

PURPOSE: To clearly assess the vitality of their role, this study investigates their

importance in trade facilitation, prevention of technical smuggling and securing the

revenue collection of the government.

used descriptive design which was based on the present happenings. Hence, it used

survey questionnaires as principal instrument, and quantitative technique was adopted

for the study.

FINDINGS: The study reveals that the respondent BOC employees and selected

importers have the same or similar appreciation on the importance of the customs

brokers. Both believe that customs brokers are very important in trade facilitation, in

prevention of technical smuggling and securing the revenue collection of the

government. Customs brokers are very crucial and essential in the field they serve

indeed. The services they provide have positive effects on the smooth transactions

between the importers and BOC personnel.

SOURCE: www. dlsu.edu.ph

RETRIEVED: July 14, 2018

5.

TITLE: The Filipino Customs Brokers’ Perception on the Proposed Customs

Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) of the Philippines

AUTHOR/S: Roberta L. Riga

regards to definition of declarant, responsibilities of declarant, role of third party and

exclusion of ‘customs broker’ under CMTA.

METHODOLOGY: The descriptive research design was used in this study utilizing a

self-constructed questionnaire as data gathering instrument.

FINDINGS: Findings showed that the customs brokers have high level of knowledge

with regards to the definition of declarant, responsibilities of declarant and the role of

‘third party’ under the proposed CMTA. However, they have low level of knowledge on

the exclusion of ‘customs broker’ on the proposed law.

SOURCE: http://www.hrpub.org

RETRIEVED: July 14, 2018

6.

TITLE: JOB SATISFACTION AND PROFESSIONALISM OF SELECTED LICENSED

CUSTOMS BROKERS IN PARAÑAQUE CITY

AUTHOR/S:
Darryl B. Degracia

Norielle C. Capuyan

Duane Jasper R. Vizcarra

PURPOSE: to shed light and provide concrete statistical evidence, the level of job

satisfaction and level of professionalism of the selected Licensed Customs Brokers in

Parañaque City was determined in this study. The level of job satisfaction was assessed

in terms of: pay; promotion; supervision; fringe benefits; contingent rewards; operating

procedures; co-worker; nature of work; and communication.

METHODOLOGY: Two (2) sets of standardized questionnaires were used in gathering

the necessary data and the following statistical tools were used in the treatment of the

obtained data: Percentage; Analysis of Variance (ANOVA); Independent sample test;

Weighted Mean and Pearson r correlation.

FINDINGS: It was found that in terms of pay, promotion, supervision, fringe benefits,

contingent rewards, co-workers, nature of work and communication the selected

Licensed Customs Brokers were satisfied and they were dissatisfied with the operating

procedures. The level of professionalism perception of the Licensed Customs Brokers

and their respective clients were the same which was said to be high. There was no

significant difference in the level of professionalism perception of the Licensed Customs

Brokers when they were grouped according to position, monthly salary, and ports of
operation; however, there was a significant difference when they were grouped

according to their years of experience.

SOURCE: http://www.dlsu.edu.ph

RETRIEVED: July 14, 2018

7.

TITLE: NEW ROLES FOR CUSTOMS BROKERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY

CHAIN

AUTHOR/S:

Ximena Gutierez

Philippe Wieser

Juha Hintsa

Ari-Pekka Hameri

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to document the Customs brokers’ actual

role in the international supply chain and to anticipate the new service opportunities

emerging in the future.

for the first time Customs brokers industry on worldwide basis. The Customs broker

sample was selected together with the International Federation of Customs Brokers

Associations (IFCBA), and International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations

(FIATA), responses covered 21 Customs broker businesses in 10 countries.

FINDINGS: As the main result of the study, Product classification, Export and import

trade compliance, and Compliance audit were identified as the brokers’ key traditional

services, which are also expected to keep their importance in the future. Additional

services for Arranging international transportation, Trade consulting and International

trade automation, appear to have the biggest potential for future business expansion –

or even for business survival.

SOURCE: https://www.researchgate.net

RETRIEVED: July 14, 2018

8.

TITLE: STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE MODERNISATION OF THE CUSTOMS

CODE

AUTHOR/S:
Czyzowics Wieslaw W.

Giffoni Mauro

Herrero Ignacio

Parasie Jean Marie

Ribeiro Avelino

Sandretto Anne

Sen Tamer

Totorizzo Vito

Zografos George

PURPOSE: the purpose is to guarantee the protection of the revenues and the financial

interests of States

METHODOLOGY: Quantitative

FINDINGS: present analysis proves that in the current “globalized” environment, where

the control over the massive flow of goods becomes increasingly complex, and the

terrorism represents a threat more than ever hard to contrast, these highly

professionalized “customs intermediaries” can effectively offer a valuable support to the

administrations for a better security and an improved smoothness of traffic

SOURCE: http://www.ddcustomslaw.com
RETRIEVED: July 14, 2018

9.

TITLE: THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND THE BUSINESS OF LAW

AUTHOR/S: Joanne Bagust

PURPOSE: In this article it is argued that in the mature and highly competitive

marketplace for legal services, rather than working as autonomous professionals,

corporate lawyers are now finding themselves working more and more as functionaries

subservient to the dictates of their corporate clients.

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative

FINDINGS: The propensity of corporate law firms to focus constantly on the client list

and the profit motive no doubt functions to affect the professional autonomy of individual

lawyers, ethical corporate legal practice and, it follows, the integrity of the legal

profession itself. Certainly, competition for client business or market share has changed

dramatically and probably the most dramatically within the last 15 years, with the

nationalisation of practices, with globalisation of clients, with the breakdown of

traditional client-firm relationships. All those things have really added very new

dimensions to practices and have added substantially new requirements to what is

expected of someone in practice.

SOURCE: http://www.austlii.edu.au
RETRIEVED: July 14, 2018

10.

TITLE: How should we move forward in customs brokerage and trade facilitation?

AUTHOR/S:

Gilberto M. Llanto,

Adoracion M. Navarro,

Keith C. Detros

Ma. Kristina P. Ortiz

PURPOSE: To maximize the potential benefits from such integration, the Philippines

must have seamless, efficient, and transparent trading procedures. There are now

efforts to modernize customs administration and these will partly affect the customs

brokerage profession in the country. The proposed Customs and Tariff Modernization

Act is now facing resistance from organized customs brokers as the proposed law

entails some changes that could adversely affect their role in customs administration.

METHODOLOGY: The stakeholder engagement process conducted in this study

proves that such methodology can be an effective way to extract information, opinions,

and issues that would not have surfaced from desk reviews. In the roundtable

discussion, the customs brokers had been way more vocal than the government officials
in expressing their sentiments. The exchange of opposing views during the roundtable

discussion led to the urgency to conduct bilateral conversations with the direct users of

the customs brokerage services

FINDINGS: The study clearly points to the declining relevance of the customs brokers’

services in an environment where: (i) customs administration is modernizing; (ii)

computerization is replacing the traditional and direct interaction of brokers with BOC

staff; and (iii) a more transparent customs administration is emerging to efficiently

process a significantly growing volume of trade transactions. It will be more efficient and

consistent with trade facilitation to allow traders to use various and modern options for

releasing or shipping their goods.

SOURCE: https://dirp3.pids.gov.ph

RETRIEVED: July 14, 2018

11.

TITLE: An Overview of Performance Measurement in Customs Administrations

AUTHOR/S:

Robert Ireland,

Thomas Cantens,
Tadashi Yasui

PURPOSE: Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administration

functions and that secondarily it can be beneficial for attracting donor funding.

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative

FINDINGS: Nevertheless, one should keep in mind that the more quantification one

administration develops, the more qualitative analysis (historical, political, social) is

required to give sense to figures. PM in the context of Customs is already mainly

conducted by donors and other experts. It gives birth to many data points, indicators,

and classifications which are publicly disseminated. It is time Customs administrations

commit themselves in order to be not only objects of measurement but also agent and

part of it.

SOURCE: http://www.wcoomd.org

RETRIEVED: August 03, 2018

12.

TITLE: BOC modernization to create new opportunities for customs brokers

AUTHORS: Edu Lopez

facilitation that can create a higher volume of trade, to introduce greater efficiencies in

customs and trade.

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative

FINDINGS: The study pointed out that minimizing the role of customs brokers can be

beneficial to both exporters and importers because this could result in minimizing costs

arising from brokerage fees.

SOURCE: https://pids.gov.ph/pids-in-the-news/693

RETRIEVED: August 03, 2018

13.

TITLE: Customs brokers as facilitator in international trade

AUTHORS: Hege Medin

PURPOSE: reduce fixed trade costs by hiring intermediaries like trading companies.

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative
FINDINGS: indications of lower sunk costs as well as fixed trade costs for firms that hire

such services. However, engaging brokers can be risky, and traders in high-risk

products like food are more likely to self-declare.

SOURCE:

https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2475766/Customs+brokers+as+fa

cilitators+in+international+trade.+NUPI+WP.pdf?sequence=2

RETRIEVED: August 03, 2018

14.

TITLE: What is a Customs Broker & Why Do You Need One?

AUTHOR: Debbie Shaw

PURPOSE: to get their shipments cleared at the border. For each of these

transactions, reams of critical business data must be generated, about everything from

country of origin and destinations, to suppliers, tariff classifications, routings, and

intended use.

METHODOLOGY: Descriptive
FINDINGS: Traditionally, importers rely on customs brokers to pull that information
together and clear the goods through customs. But many importers are learning that it
is only part of the story. Customs brokers are now helping importers leverage that
information, transforming data into critical business intelligence. Customs brokers are
offering a growing range of specialized services to help importers develop new product
lines, explore new markets, evaluate the impact of global change, and cut costs.

SOURCE: http://cscb.ca/content/what-customs-broker-why-do-you-need-one

RETRIEVED: August 15, 2018

15.

TITLE: Importance of LCB in trade facilitation

AUTHOR: Jofe ann nacario

PURPOSE: Focus on the importance of LCB in trade facilitation, Familiarize the LCB on

their duties, aims to provide knowledge to the importer and exporter about the vital role

of LCB in trade facilitation

METHODOLOGY: Descriptive

FINDINGS: in terms of LCB’s roles in trade facilitation, most of the respondents agrees

on the LCB in handling the declaration of the goods, in the development of trade

facilitation and can be replaced by importers and exporters in customs processing.

RETRIEVED: August 15, 2018

16.
TITLE: Change is Difficult, but Inevitable in Life

AUTHOR: Anne Catambay

PURPOSE: Given the fact that change is the natural state of things and is inevitable, it

helps people to choose two choices. Either they will embrace embrace change, or they

will reject it.

METHODOLOGY: Descriptive

FINDINGS: Change can often be a difficult thing for everyone to accept. No matter how

big or small, sadly many of us fear it. At the end of the day, change creates opportunity.

The problem is in our attitude towards change, whether we treat it negatively or we

welcome it and accept it. The majority of people become used to their “stream of

life”. Mentally, people live well “in a status quo” situation, both at home and in the office.

SOURCE: https://www.clarizen.com/the-advantages-of-change/

RETRIEVED: August 15, 2018

TITLE: The legal status of the customs declarant.

AUTHOR: Angelina S. Lysenko

PURPOSE: comprehensive analysis of the legal provisions of the customs declarant,

the process of his committing customs declaration of goods and vehicles, as well as

identifying the most common disorders associated with the declaration that the

declarant makes.

METHODOLOGY: Comprehensive

FINDINGS: Any error that is admitted in the customs declaration of goods and vehicles

can be viewed by the customs authorities as false declaration, and entail administrative

responsibility in the form of additional damages in connection with the payment of

penalties for violation of customs regulations. Or it may result in downtime of vehicles

and cargo into force untimely release of the goods by the customs authorities.

SOURCE: https://www.pglu.ru/upload/iblock/90e/lysenko_en.pdf

RETRIEVED: August 15, 2018

18.

TITLE: Definition of Attorney-in-fact and its contrast to a company representative

Abelardo T. Domondon

Roberto T. Domondon

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to publicize the meaning of attorney-in-fact in

the field of Bureau of Customs as well as the divergent it has compared to a company

representative.

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative

FINDINGS: Attorney-in-fact is defined as the duly empowered to act as agent or

attorney in fact for each holder may be the declarant who shall lodge a goods

declaration with the Bureau of Customs. An attorney in fact may be any person whether

or not connected with the juridical person who has the right to dispose the goods while a

company representative must always be a responsible officer of the company.

Furthermore, the CMTA does not seem to contain a limitation as to the number of

importers that an attorney in fact may represent while a company representative may

only represent his company. So also, an attorney in fact should always be empowered

by a special or general power of attorney while the authority of a company

representative need not be in the form of a special or general power of attorney

although it may be advisable that authority must be contained in a special or general

power of attorney.

SOURCE: Guide to Tariff and Customs Laws

RETRIEVED: August 4, 2018

TITLE: PH Brokers not obsolete with the Customs Modernization Act

AUTHOR/S: Roumina Pablo

PURPOSE: This study clearly shows the threatening effect of the Attorney in Fact to the

aspiring customs broker as well as to the practicing customs broker too. This studies

shows the vital role of the Customs Broker compared to the Attorney in fact in the field

of Customs profession.

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative

FINDINGS: According to the Chamber of Customs Broker, President Dennis Del Pilar,

“The need for services of the Philippines Customs Broker may be diminished but not

completely disappear with the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. Under the CMTA,

customs broker services will be optional but not terminated. Customs broker and

Customs Administration student have expressed apprehension over the declarant

provisions of the measures which makes mandatory for two years the engagement of

customs broker as goods declarant but makes the same optional after that period. Del

Pilar said, he is sure especially to the multinational companies as well as exporters

located in the free economic zones will continue to engage the services of customs

brokers because of the complexity of the task involved in exporting and importing

goods. The reality of the situation is that the customs importation process is very
technical process and an importer will always require the expertise and advisory service

of customs broker to properly transact, Attorney Agatun Overo said.

SOURCE: https://www.portcalls.com/brokers-obsolete-customs-modernization-

actindustry-exec

20.

TITLE: The rights and responsibilities of the declarant/agent/attorney in fact.

AUTHOR/S:

Abelardo T. Domondon

Roberto T. Domondon

PURPOSE: This study seeks to address the needs of the public especially to the

customs broker, lawyers, customs employees, professors of taxation, researcher and

customs administration student.

METHODOLOGY: Qualitative

FINDINGS: The declarant shall be responsible for the accuracy of the goods declaration

and for the payment of all duties, taxes, and other charges due on the imported goods.

The declarant shall sign the goods declaration, even when assisted by a licensed

customs broker, who shall likewise sign the goods declaration

and Customs Laws

RETRIEVED: August 04, 2018