EDC prepares to ease importer accreditation

MANILA, Philippines – The public-private Export Development Council (EDC) is seeking to ease importer accreditation process in the country, starting with the scrapping of clearance certificate from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

EDC deputy executive director Emma Mijares said importers at present secure accreditation from both the BIR and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Mijares said these are redundant procedures resulting to additional costs and processing time.

As such, Mijares said the group is pushing for the repeal of rules requiring importers to secure clearance certificate from the BIR in hopes of streamlining business processes.

The EDC has likewise submitted to the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) a list of rules, regulations, and laws for repeal, which included the Electric Power Industry Reform Act Law, the Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide (ASIN), and BIR revenue regulations on primary registration, updates, and cancellation.

ASIN requires all food manufacturers and processors using food-grade salt to use iodized salt in the processing of their products.

The law requires that all salt be iodized both for “human and animal consumption” in accordance with the standards set by the Bureau of Food and Drugs to meet national nutritional needs of consumers.

The EDC and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., however, said food exporters are now exempted from using iodized salt in their products for export as approved by the Salt Iodization Advisory Board stipulated in the revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of ASIN.

Exporters have earlier advocated for the review of the IRR, saying the use of iodine-fortified salt disqualifies food products from being classified as natural food products.

“Small local salt farmers who supply to small exporters also find the iodization process tedious and expensive, a procedure that is not even needed by foreign buyers,” they said.