• FUNCTIONS OF THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS

Sec. 602. Functions of the Bureau. — The general duties, powers and jurisdiction of the bureau shall
include:

a. The assessment and collection of the lawful revenues from imported articles and all other dues, fees,
charges, fines and penalties accruing under the tariff and customs laws.

b. The prevention and suppression of smuggling and other frauds upon the customs.

c. The supervision and control over the entrance and clearance of vessels and aircraft engaged in foreign
commerce.

d. The general supervision, control and regulation of vessels engaged in the carrying of passengers and
freight or in towage in coastwise trade and in the bays and rivers of the Philippines.

e. The prohibition and suppression of unnecessary noises, such as explosion of gasoline engines, the
excessive blowing of whistles or sirens, and other needless and disturbing sounds made by water craft in
the ports of the Philippines or in parts of rivers included in such ports.

f. The exclusion, if the conditions of traffic should at any time so require, of vessels of more than one
hundred and fifty tons from entering, berthing or mooring in the Pasig River.

g. The admeasurement, registration, documenting and licensing of vessels built or owned in the
Philippines, the recording of sales, transfers and encumbrances of such vessels, and the performance of
all the duties pertaining to marine registry.

h. The inspection of Philippine vessels, and supervision over the safety and sanitation of such vessels.

i. The enforcement of the lawful quarantine regulations for vessels entering Philippine ports.

j. The enforcement of the tariff and customs laws and all other laws, rules and regulations relating to the
tariff and customs administration.

k. The licensing of marine officers who have qualified in the examination required by law to be carried
on Philippine vessels, the determination of the qualifications of pilots, the regulation of this service, and
the fixing of the fees which they may charge.

l. The supervision and control over the handling of foreign mails arriving in the Philippines, for the
purpose of the collection of the lawful duty on dutiable articles thus imported and the prevention of
smuggling through the medium of such mails.

• FUNCTIONS OF THE TARIFF COMMISSION

Sec. 505. Functions of the Commission. — The Commission shall investigate —

(a) the administration of and the fiscal and industrial effects of the tariff and customs laws of this
country now in force or which may hereafter be enacted;

(b) the relations between the rates of duty on raw materials and the finished or partly finished products;
(c) the effects of ad valorem and specific duties and of compound specific and ad valorem duties;

(d) all questions relative to the arrangement of schedules and classification of articles in the several
schedules of the tariff law;

(e) the tariff relations between the Philippines and foreign countries, commercial treaties, preferential
provisions, economic alliances, the effect of export bounties and preferential transportation rates;

(f) the volume of importations compared with domestic production and consumption;

(g) conditions, causes, and effects relating to competition of foreign industries with those of the
Philippines, including dumping and cost of production; and

(h) in general, to investigate the operation of customs and tariff laws, including their relation to the
national revenues, their effect upon the industries and labor of the country, and to submit reports of its
investigations as hereinafter provided.

• NATURE OF TARIFF AND CUSTOMS DUTIES

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• BASIS OF ASSESSMENT OF DUTY

Sec. 201. Basis of Dutiable Value. — Whenever an imported article is subject to an ad valorem rate of
duty, the duty shall be assessed upon the market value or price at which, at the time of exportation, the
same, like or similar article is freely offered for sale in the principal markets of the exporting country for
exportation to the Philippines, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade
(excluding internal excise taxes to be remitted or rebated), plus ordinary expenses prior and incidental
to the lading of such article on board the vessel or aircraft at the port of export (including taxes or
duties, if any) and freight paid as well as insurance premium paid covering the transportation of such
article to the port of entry in the Philippines.

When the value of the article cannot be ascertained in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the
value shall be the domestic wholesale market value or selling price of the same, like or similar imported
article in the principal market of the Philippines on the date of exportation of the article under
appraisement, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, minus the import
duty and other taxes as well as a commission not exceeding six per centum if any has been paid or
contracted to be paid on goods secured otherwise than by purchase, and profits not to exceed eight per
centum and a reasonable allowance for general expenses not to exceed eight per centum on purchased
goods, and all other expenses incidental to the delivery from the port of importation to the principal
market in the Philippines.

Sec. 202. Bases of Dutiable Weight. — On articles that are subject to specific rate of duty, based on
weight, the duty shall be ascertained as follows:
a. When articles are dutiable by the gross weight, the dutiable weight thereof shall be the weight of
same, together with the weight of all containers, packages, holders and packings, of any kind, in which
said articles are contained, held or packed at the time of importation.

b. When articles are dutiable by the legal weight, the dutiable weight thereof shall be the weight of
same, together with the weight of the immediate containers, holders and/or packing in which such
articles are usually contained, held or packed at the time of importation and/or, when imported in retail
packages, at the time of their sale to the public in usual retail quantities: Provided, That when articles
are packed in single container, the weight of the latter shall be included in the legal weight.

c. When articles are dutiable by the net weight, the dutiable weight thereof shall be only the actual
weight of the articles at the time of importation, excluding the weight of the immediate and all other
containers, holders or packing in which such articles are contained, held or packed.

d. Articles affixed to cardboard, cards, paper, wood or similar common material shall be dutiable
together with the weight of such holders.

e. When a single package contains imported articles dutiable according to different weights, or to weight
and value, the common exterior receptacles shall be prorated and the different proportions thereof
treated in accordance with the provisions of this Code as to the dutiability or non-dutiability of such
packing.

• DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR IMPORTATION OF GOODS

Import documents required for shipments to the Philippines include:

o Commercial invoice/Pro forma invoice;

o Bill of lading (for sea freight) or air waybill (for air freight);
o Certificate of origin (if requested);
o Packing list;
o Special certificates/import clearance/permit depending on the nature of goods being
shipped and/or requested by the importer/bank;
o Commercial Invoice of Returned Philippine Goods.

• DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR EXPORT OF GOODS

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