Definition of Terms

Section 102

Declaration of Policy Sec. 101

It is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect and enhance government revenue, institute fair and transparent customs and tariff management that will efficiently facilitate international trade, prevent and curtail any form of customs fraud and illegal acts, and modernize customs and tariff administration

Abatement

Refers to the reduction or diminution, in whole or in part, of duties and taxes where payment has not been made

Actual or Outright Exportation

Refers to the customs procedure applicable to goods which, being in free circulation, leave the Philippine territory and are intended to remain permanently outside it

Admission

Refers to the act of bringing imported goods directly or through transit into a free zone

Airway Bill (AWB)

Refers to a transport document for airfreight used by airlines and international freight forwarders which specify the holder or consignee of the bill who has the right to claim delivery of the goods when they arrive at the port of destination

Appeal

Refers to the remedy by which a person who is aggrieved or adversely affected by any action, decision, order, or omission of the Bureau, seeks redress before the Bureau, the Secretary of Finance, or competent court, as the case may be

Assessment

Refers to the process of determining the amount of duties and taxes and other charges due on imported and exported goods

Authorized Economic Operator

Refers to the importer, exporter, customs broker, forwarder, freight forwarder, transport provider, and any other entity duly accredited by the Bureau based on the World Customs Organization (WCO) Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade

Bill of Lading (BL)

Refers to a transport document issued by shipping lines, carriers and international freight forwarders or non-vessel operating common carrier for water-borne freight. The holder or consignee of the bill has the right to claim delivery of the goods at the port of destination.

Bureau

Refers to the Bureau of Customs

Carrier

Refers to the person actually transporting goods or in charge of or responsible for the operation of the means of transport such as airlines, shipping lines, freight forwarders, cargo consolidators, non-vessel operating common carriers and other international transport operators

Clearance

Refers to the completion of customs and other government formalities necessary to allow goods to enter for consumption, warehousing, transit or transshipment, or to be exported or placed under another customs procedure

Commission

Refers to the Tariff Commission

Conditional Importation

Refers to the customs procedure known under the RKC as temporary admission in which certain goods can be brought into a customs territory conditionally relieved, totally or partially, from payment of import duties and taxes; such goods must be imported for a specific purpose and must be intended for reexportation within a specified period and without having undergone any substantial change except due to normal depreciation

Customs Broker

Refers to any person who is a bona fide holder of a valid Certificate of Registration/Professional Identification Card issued by the Professional Regulatory Board and Professional Regulation Commission pursuant to Republic Act No. 9280, as amended, otherwise known as the "Customs Brokers Act of 2004"

Customs Office

Refers to any customs administrative unit that is competent and authorized to perform all or any of the functions enumerated under customs and tariff laws

Customs Officer

As distinguished from a clerk or employee, refers to a person whose duty, not being clerical or manual in nature, involves the exercise of discretion in performing the function of the Bureau. It may also refer to an employee authorized to perform a specific function of the Bureau as provided in this Act

Customs Territory

Refers to areas in the Philippines where customs and tariff laws may be enforced

Entry

Refers to the act, documentation and process of bringing imported goods into the customs territory, including goods coming from free zones

Exportation

Refers to the act, documentation, and process of bringing goods out of Philippine territory

Export Declaration

Refers to a statement made in the manner prescribed by the Bureau and other appropriate agencies, by which the persons concerned indicate the procedure to be observed for taking out or causing to be taken out any exported goods and the particulars of which the customs administration shall require

Flexible Clause

Refer to the power of the President upon recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)

Foreign Exporter

Refers to one whose name appears on documentation attesting to the export of the product to the Philippines regardless of the manufacturer's name in the invoice

Free Zone

Refers to special economic zones registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) under Republic Act No. 7916, as amended, duly chartered or legislated special economic zones and freeports

Goods

Refer to articles, wares, merchandise and any other items which are subject of importation or exportation

Goods Declaration

Refers to a statement made in the manner prescribed by the Bureau and other appropriate agencies, by which the persons concerned indicate the procedure to be observed in the application for the entry or admission of imported goods and the particulars of which the customs administration shall require

Importation

Refers to the act of bringing in of goods from a foreign territory into Philippine territory, whether for consumption, warehousing, or admission as defined in this Act

Freight Forwarder

Refers to a local entity that acts as a cargo intermediary and facilitates transport of goods on behalf of its client

International Freight Forwarder

Refers to persons responsible for the assembly and consolidation of shipments into single lot, and assuming, in most cases, the full responsibility for the international transport of such shipment from point of receipt to the point of destination

Jurisdictional Control

Refers to the power and rights of the Bureau in exercising supervision and police authority over all seas within the jurisdiction of the Philippine territory and over all coasts, ports, airports, harbors, bays, rivers and inland waters whether navigable or not from the sea

Lodgement

Refers to the registration, of a goods declaration with the Bureau

Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier

Refers to an entity, which may or may not own or operate a vessel that provides a point-to-point service which may include several modes of transport and/or undertakes group age of less container load (LCL) shipments and issues the corresponding transport document

Outright Smuggling

Refers to an act of importing goods into the country without complete customs prescribed importation documents, or without being cleared by customs or other regulatory government agencies, for the purpose of evading payment of prescribed taxes, duties and other government charges

Perishable Goods

Refers to goods liable to perish or goods that depreciate greatly in value while stored or which cannot be kept without great disproportionate expense, which may be proceeded to, advertised and sold at auction upon notice if deemed reasonable

Port of Entry

Refers to a domestic port open to both domestic and international trade, including principal ports of entry and subports of entry

Principal Port of Entry

Is the chief port of entry of the Customs District wherein it is situated and is the permanent station of the District Collector of such port

Subports of Entry

Are under the administrative jurisdiction of the District Collector of the principal port of entry of the Customs District. Port of entry as used in this Act shall include airport of entry

Port of Discharge, also called Port of Unloading

Refers to a place where a vessel, ship, aircraft or train unloads its shipments, from where they will be dispatched to their respective consignees

Reexportation

means exportation of goods which have been imported

Refund

Refers to the return, in whole or in part, of duties and taxes paid on goods

Security

Refers to any form of guaranty, such as a surety bond, cash bond, standby letter of credit or irrevocable letter of credit, which ensures the satisfaction of an obligation to the Bureau

Smuggling

Refers to the fraudulent act of importing any goods into the Philippines, or the act of assisting in receiving, concealing, buying, selling, disposing or transporting such goods, with full knowledge that the same has been fraudulently imported, or the fraudulent exportation of goods. Goods referred to under this definition shall be known as smuggled goods

Taxes

Refer to all taxes, fees and charges imposed under this Act and the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, and collected by the Bureau

Technical Smuggling

Refers to the act of importing goods into the country by means of fraudulent, falsified or erroneous declaration of the goods to its nature, kind, quality, quantity or weight, for the purpose of reducing or avoiding payment of prescribed taxes, duties and other charges

Tentative Release

Refers to a case where the assessment is disputed and pending review, an importer may put up a cash bond equivalent to the duties and taxes due on goods before the importer can obtain the release of said goods

Transit

Refers to the customs procedure under which goods, in its original form, are transported under customs control from one customs office to another, or to a free zone

Transshipment

Refers to the customs procedure under which goods are transferred under customs control from the importing means of transport to the exporting means of transport within the area of one customs office, which is the office of both importation and exportation

Traveler

Refers to any person who temporarily enters the territory of a country in which he or she does not normally resides (non-resident), or who leaves that territory, and any person who leaves the territory of a country in which he or she normally resides (departing resident) or who returns to that territory (returning resident)

Third Party

Refers to any person who deals directly with the Bureau, for and on behalf of another person, relating to the importation, exportation, movement or storage of goods