Customs will no longer collect import fees on balikbayan boxes

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MANILA – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will no longer be collecting the import processing fee of P250 for balikbayan packages.

“No amount shall be collected as import processing fee on any importation filed through informal entry,” Commissioner John P. Sevilla said in the recent order.

Through the Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 08-2014 which will take effect today, Dec 15, the bureau removed the import processing fee for packages sent by sea freight.

“The BOC shall cease to collect the import processing fee,” he added.

The bureau also reduced, in the same order, the “amount of Documentary Stamp Tax for Informal Entry” from P265 to P15. “An amount of P15 shall be collected from each importation filed through the informal entry,”

According to the latest records, about 5.5 million balikbayan boxes are shipped to the country yearly and loads of it enters the country’s port starting from September towards the end of the year.

Meanwhile, to allow recipients to track the status of their packages, the bureau has launched an online tracking system.

According to Sevilla, through the tracker, “the public will not be given the run-around by people responsible for delivering their balikbayan boxes.”