Managing Customs Disputes in the Philippines

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the Philippine government's revenue collection during the past two years as business operations slowed down due to government-imposed lockdowns and alternative arrangements of most companies. Thus, the collection targets of both the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have increased to recover the lost government revenue caused by the pandemic. We have observed that both the customs and tax authorities have been very aggressive and active in their audit activities. The BOC, for its part, has become strict in terms of compliance, especially in interpreting laws and regulations in relation to disputes at the border. This has resulted in a rise in the imposition of penalties on the importers for non-compliance. The webinar will provide a brief discussion of the common issues raised during border disputes and post clearance audits, and the remedies available to the importers.