Senator calls on BOC to fast-track guidelines for tax-free balikbayan boxes

SENATOR Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara has called on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to fast-track the issuance of proper guidelines for the implementation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) that would truly benefit overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

"Magpa-Pasko na naman pero wala pa ring kasiguraduhan kung mapapakinabangan na ng ating mga kababayang abroad ang pribilehiyong ito," Angara stressed adding that exempting balikbayan boxes from taxes means “doing justice to OFWs who remit billions of pesos every year.”

[Christmas is coming but still no certainty if our countrymen abroad will benefit from it]

The BOC has recently suspended two Customs orders providing the guidelines on tax-free balikbayan boxes after receiving numerous complaints regarding the tedious requirements to avail of the tax incentive.

Under Customs Administrative Order 05-2016 and Customs Memorandum Order 04-2017 that the bureau issued in August, qualified Filipinos while abroad must accomplish an information sheet that includes an itemized list of the contents of the balikbayan box, and must submit a copy of the receipts for brand new items and a photocopy of their passport.

"Isang magandang hakbang para sa bagong pamunuan ng Customs na maitama sa lalong madaling panahon ang alituntunin sa balikbayan box para

manumbalik ang kumpiyansa ng taumbayan sa Customs," the senator said.

[One good step for the new Customs leadership to quickly redefine the guidelines for the balikbayan boxes to restore the confidence of the people to Customs]

The Customs order also stated that "all balikbayan boxes per sender in any calendar year shall not exceed P150,000."

Angara pointed out that such rule is contrary to the true intention of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), which provides that OFWs can send up to three P150,000-worth of tax and duty-free balikbayan boxes, or not exceeding P450,000 in a year, given that the goods are not in commercial quantities.

'The laws that Congress makes should always be interpreted in favor of the people—and in this instance, it should be in favor of our OFWs and their families," the lawmaker said.

The CMTA also provides for a less intrusive examination of goods brought in to the country so as to prevent the alleged tampering of balikbayan boxes from happening again. (SunStar Philippines)