Oil companies willing to pay third party import inspectors

The country’s oil industry players are willing to help the Bureau of Customs (BOC) finance the services of an international third-party certifying agency to help curb smuggling.

“Customs need not spend for that, it can be a self-regulation. However, we can help shoulder the cost of the service,” said Eastern Petroleum Corp. president Fernando Martinez.

Martinez said importers can help defray the cost of hiring a third-party inspector and liberate the government from any expense.

This developed as the BOC thumbed down a proposal to tap the services of Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) of Switzerland.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila reportedly made the proposal in a meeting with the business community to help curb rampant smuggling in the country.

Customs commissioner Napoleon Morales clarified that there is no immediate plan to hire a third-party inspector like SGS, saying that the agency is working on a tight budget and does not have enough funds for such.

 “We do not have enough funds for that. Our budget is tight so it would be difficult to hire them again,” Morales earlier said.

Martinez, who is also the president of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA), said importers may contribute to finance the expenses of hiring an international certifying agency.

“It may not necessarily be SGS. It can be another company,” Martinez told The STAR.

Favila had reportedly proposed to the business community the idea of restoring the operations of SGS in the customs bureau to help stop rampant smuggling in the country’s ports.

SGS, which the BOC previously tapped, specializes in pre-shipment inspection. Without SGS, the customs bureau is responsible for the valuation, classification and clearance functions for imports.

Morales, however, said that tapping the services of SGS again is not necessary as the agency is already working with importers for the proper filing of import entries in all principal ports.

With SGS, BOC would inspect all imported products and goods. The pre-shipment inspections were undertaken by SGS prior to shipment from the originating country.