E-TRACC exemption sought for exporters — Trade dep’t --[Reported by Umva mag]

EXPORTERS should be exempt from the Bureau of Customs’ (BoC) Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo (E-TRACC) system, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said, noting that the industry already tracks its shipments.

Export Marketing Bureau Director Bianca Pearl R. Sykimte said that discussions on exempting exporters have been elevated to the Economic Development Group, which is co-chaired by the Secretaries of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“We are still coordinating with BoC on identifying what data can (fulfill) the agency’s requirement for monitoring,” Ms. Sykimte said on the sidelines of the Philippines-Korea Business Forum on Monday.

“The discussion is about how we can integrate the monitoring requirements of BoC with the monitoring mechanisms in place,” she added.

Ms. Sykimte, who is also the executive director of the Export Development Council, said: “Most of what we export are really intermediate goods” whose local use is limited, she said.

“We also inquired from the BoC if there are deviations from the point of origin to the destination, and they said there were none,” she added.

She said there is a strong case to waive the requirement for exporters. 

“We think that it might be more restrictive than necessary to achieve the public policy objective,” she said.

However, she said that the DTI is open to a “risk-based assessment given that there were no deviations recorded by the BoC and that the shipments of our exporters are covered by their contractual obligations to their buyers.” 

Launched in 2020 via Customs Memorandum Order No. 04-2020, the E-TRACC system enables real-time monitoring of inland movements of containerized goods.

Using GPS-enabled tracking devices, the system ensures the secure transport of goods by deterring diversions and tampering.

In July 2022, the BoC ordered the full implementation of the E-TRACC system on all containers processed with no exception.

Earlier this year, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) sought a waiver for electronics exporters.

According to SEIPI President Danilo C. Lachica, the system is redundant and will cost exporters P1 million to P2 million on top of rising logistics costs. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

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