A staging (dummy) bond policy/account is required for Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-registered enterprises whose bulk shipments are discharged directly to their private wharves or piers located inside PEZA economic zones.

The policy satisfies requirements for implementation of the Automated Bonds Management System (ABMS) under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 30-2020, which requires that the transfer of shipments from the port of discharge to PEZA zones should be covered by a bond policy/account.

Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) Memo No. 44-2021, dated Feb 26, 2021 but signed March 8 by Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, acknowledged instances when bulk shipments of PEZA-registered enterprises are discharged directly to their own private wharves or piers located in PEZA zones negating the rationale for posting of the required general transport surety bond (GTSB).

OCOM 44-2021 requires creation of a staging bond policy/account to be monitored by the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) Bonds Division or the concerned collection district.

The ABMS is a BOC-wide system that handles processing of bond transactions, monitors and manages bond balances, and flags bonds that have matured. The ABMS was established pursuant to CMO 14-2012, which provides procedures for implementing the ABMS in all customs ports.

CMO 30-2020, meanwhile, provides guidelines for implementing the ABMS for the GTSB, a form of security to guarantee payment of duties and taxes and other obligations to BOC. The CMO applies to all transit bond accounts opened under BOC’s Electronic-to-Mobile (e2m) System in all collection districts, including sub-ports and other BOC offices.

Under CMO 30-2020, which was implemented last February, all electronically lodged transit goods declarations must have an approved bond policy in the ABMS starting March 1.

To create a staging bond policy/account, OCOM Memo 44-2021 requires the PEZA-registered enterprise to write a request to the district collector, sub-port collector, or BOC-PEZA Office officer-in-charge. The request must include the PEZA-registered enterprise’s tax identification number, which will be used to create the staging bond policy/account.

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