Importers should comply with the new order mandating the exclusive use of the Customer Care Portal System (CCPS) for the filing of all goods declarations, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
Alvin V. Ogena, information technology officer at BOC-Management Information Systems and Technology Group, said that new Office of the Commissioner Memo No. 27-2021 directs that all good declarations should be filed exclusively through the CCPS.
The memorandum was issued in February 2021 to clarify that “the only mode for submission of soft copies of goods declaration shall be through the Customer Care Portal System,” said Ogena at a recent webinar.
The order further states that all goods declarations must have a corresponding ticket in the CCPS before they can be processed by the bureau’s assessment offices.
The CCPS is the BOC’s online ticketing system that allows stakeholders to electronically submit their concerns, complaints, feedback, suggestions and, more importantly, their goods declaration, said Ogena.
The system was created to promote ease of doing business and implement a “no contact policy” to minimize human intervention while also serving to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The portal may be accessed by either visiting the customs.gov.ph website then clicking the “BOC Portal” icon or going directly to https://client.customs.gov.ph.
Users must sign in and create a new account to generate a ticket and file their goods declaration.
To open a new ticket, they should click on the Help Topics and select the Goods Declaration Online Filing from the dropdown box.
Ogena said users should make sure to fill out all the mandatory fields-those marked with red asterisks-and check all the required boxes to be able to proceed.
He also advises attaching all relevant documents even though this is not mandatory so as to save time, since the examiner or appraiser will be sure to ask for them eventually.
It is also important to follow the correct format required for the Issue Summary field to hasten processing, as the field is equivalent to the ticket’s title and will be the first thing seen by the examiner.
Finally, Ogena shared advice on how to deal in particular with transit tickets in order to prevent misrouted or lost tickets, which cause delays.
For the online filing of goods declaration intended for the Port of Manila (POM) or Manila International Container Port (MICP), the user should click on the POM portal link (pomportal.customs.gov.ph) or the MICP portal link (micpportal.customs.gov.ph) on the CCPS.
This, Ogena explained, is because all these portals are separate from each other, and a ticket filed through one portal will not be viewable through the other portals.
In case the user files a transit ticket entry on the main portal client.customs.gov.ph that is intended for either POM or MICP, Ogena said the solution is simply to re-file the ticket intended for either of these ports.
From CCPS where the original ticket is located, the user should save a PDF copy and attach it to the new ticket to be re-filed going to POM or MICP. This will serve as proof to the POM or MICP that the ticket came from the main portal, said Ogena.
He also urged visitors to check out the FAQ section of the CCPS for answers to common concerns regarding use of the portal.