By Daisy CL Mandap
 |
| Back to the old rules for sending a balikbayan box to home |
Filipinos abroad will no longer be required to submit
passport copies, receipts, or set a price for each item in the balikbayan box
they send back to the Philippines .
The stricter guidelines for sending tax-free balikbayan
boxes imposed since August 1 this year were suspended from yesterday until
March 31 next year.
In a statement, the Bureau of Customs said the new rules
which took effect last month have been temporarily suspended in the wake of
criticisms from overseas Filipino workers.
"Although it is our duty to facilitate customs
clearance of balikbayan boxes, we cannot set aside the sentiments of our fellow
Filipinos abroad," Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña said.
He added that new guidelines may be imposed after the
deadline, following a more thorough study of how the law granting tax-free
benefits to goods sent by Filipinos from abroad could be better enforced.
In the meantime, senders will revert to the old practice of
just filling up a packing list provided by the cargo company, in which they
must indicate the items in each box, but not to declare their value, or attach proof of
their identity.
Cora Ong of Hong Kong- based forwarder Asian Dragon welcomed
Customs’ move, saying the stricter rules were a big headache to everyone
because of the additional documentation that were required.
Although her company never asked senders passport copies, it
did require them to fill in the 3-page long customs declaration form, which
meant bigger workload for her staff.
Still, she said it is best if senders would give more
allowance for sending boxes home because there should still be a backlog from
implementing the previous guidelines.
“Kung dati ay nagpapadala kayo ng mga pamasko ng bandang
Nobyembre, ngayon ay mag-umpisa na kayo dapat para siguradong makarating
sa inyong pamilya bago mag Pasko,” she
said.
Under both Customs Administrative Order 05-2016 and Customs Memorandum
Order 04-2017, Filipino citizens who send balikbayan boxes home are required to
submit a photocopy of their Philippine passport and fill in a detailed form to
avail of the tax exemption.
They were also required to provide a copy of the invoice,
receipt, or proof of payment of each new item costing more than Php10,000. Only
personal and household goods in non-commercial quantity could be sent.
Each sender could only ship three boxes per year, with the
total value of the goods not to exceed Php150,000. In addition, they could only
send boxes to close relatives.
