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TARIFF AND CUSTOMS LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES

This page features the full text of
Republic Act No. 1937
Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines
AN ACT TO REVISE AND CODIFY THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES
...
A DECREE TO CONSOLIDATE AND CODIFY ALL THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Presidential Decree No. 1464
AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1464, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS AMENDED, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Republic Act No. 9135
AN ACT TO REVITALIZE AND STRENGTHEN THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS AMENDED.
Republic Act No. 7651
AN ACT REPEALING SECTION 1404 AND AMENDING SECTIONS 1401 AND 1403 OF THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS AMENDED, RELATIVE TO THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF IMPORTED ARTICLES.
Republic Act No. 7650
QUICK INDEX
OF THE
TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
BOOK I
Tariff Law

Title I - Import Tariff
Title II - Administrative Provisions
BOOK II
Customs Law

Title I - The Bureau of Customs
Title II - Registration of Vessels, Coastwise Trade and Licensing of Marine Officers
Title III - Vessels and Aircraft in Foreign Trade
Title IV - Ascertainment, Collection and Recovery of Import Duty
Title V - Warehousing of Imported Articles
Title VI - Administrative and Judicial Proceedings
Title VII - Fees, Dues and Charges Collectible by the Bureau of Customs
Title VIII - General Provisions
...

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1937
 
. AN ACT TO REVISE AND CODIFY THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES
 
BOOK II
CUSTOMS LAW 
 

TITLE III
VESSELS AND AIRCRAFT IN FOREIGN TRADE 



PART 1
ENTRANCE AND CLEARANCE OF VESSELS 


Section 1001. Ports Open to Vessels Engaged in Foreign Trade — Duty of Vessel to Make Entry. — Vessels engaged in the foreign trade shall touch at ports of entry only, except as otherwise specially allowed; and every such vessel arriving within a customs collection district of the Philippines from a foreign port shall make entry at the port of entry for such district and shall be subject to the authority of the Collector of the port while within his jurisdiction. 


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The master of any war vessel employed by any foreign government shall not be required to report and enter on arrival in the Philippines, unless engaged in the transportation of articles in the way of trade. 
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Sec. 1002. Control of Customs Official over Boarding or Leaving of Incoming Vessel and over Other Vessels Approaching the Former. — Upon the arrival in port of any vessel engaged in foreign trade, it shall be unlawful for any person (except the pilot, consul, quarantine officials, customs officials or other duly authorized persons) to board or leave the vessel without the permission of the customs official in charge; and it shall likewise be unlawful for any tugboat, rowboat or other craft to go along side and take any person aboard such vessel or take any person therefrom, except as aforesaid, or loiter near or along side such vessel. Unauthorized tugboats, and other vessels shall keep away from such vessel engaged in foreign trade at a distance of not less than fifty meters.


Sec. 1003. Quarantine Certificate for Incoming Vessel. — Entry of a vessel from a foreign port or place outside of the Philippines shall not be permitted until it has obtained a quarantine certificate issued by the Bureau of Quarantine. 


Sec. 1004. Documents to be Produced by Master Upon Entry of Vessel. — For the purpose of making entry of a vessel engaged in foreign trade, the master thereof shall present the following documents, duly certified by him, to the customs boarding official: 


a. The original manifest of all cargo destined for the port, to be returned with the indorsement of the boarding official;  chanrobles virtual law library b. Three copies of the same manifest, one of which, upon certification by the boarding official as to the correctness of the copy, shall be returned to the master;  chanrobles virtual law library c. Two copies of store list; 
d. One copy of passenger list; 
e. One copy of the crew list; 
f. The original of all through cargo manifest, for deposit, while in port, with customs official in charge of the vessel; 
g. A passenger manifest of all aliens, in conformity with the requirement of the immigration laws in force in the Philippines; 
h. The shipping articles and register of the vessel, if of Philippine registry. 


Sec. 1005. Manifest Required of Vessel From Foreign Port. — Every vessel from a foreign port must have on board a complete manifest of all her cargo. 
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All of the cargo intended to be landed at a port in the Philippines must be described in separate manifests for each port of call therein. Each manifest shall include the port of departure and the port of delivery with the marks, numbers, quantity and description of the packages and the names of the consignees thereof. Every vessel from a foreign port must have on board complete manifests of passengers and their baggage, in the prescribed form, setting forth their destination and all particulars required by the immigration laws; and every such vessel shall have prepared for presentation to the proper customs official upon arrival in ports of the Philippines a complete list of all sea stores then on board. If the vessel does not carry cargo or passengers the manifest must show that no cargo or passenger, as the case may be, is carried from the port of departure to the port of destination in the Philippines. 
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A cargo manifest shall in no case be changed or altered after entry of the vessel, except by means of an amendment by the master, consignee or agent thereof, under oath, and attached to the original manifest: Provided, however, That after the invoice and/or entry covering an importation have been received and recorded in the office of the appraiser, no amendment of the manifest shall be allowed, except when it is obvious that a clerical error or any other discrepancy has been committed in the preparation of the manifest, without any fraudulent intent, discovery of which could not have been made until after examination of the importation has been completed.


Sec. 1006. Translation of Manifest. — The cargo manifest and each copy thereof shall be accompanied by a translation into the official language of the Philippines, if originally written in another language. 


Sec. 1007. Manifests for Auditor and Collector — Papers to be Deposited with Consul. — Immediately after the arrival of a vessel from a foreign port, the master shall deliver or mail to the Auditor General, Manila, a copy of the cargo manifest properly indorsed by the boarding officer, and within twenty-four hours after arrival, he shall present to the Collector the original copy of the cargo manifest and, for inspection, the ship's register or other document in lieu thereof, together with the clearance and other papers granted to the vessel at the port of departure for the Philippines. 


If the vessel does not depart within forty-eight hours from the time of its arrival, the register and other shipping documents shall be deposited with the consul of the nation to which the vessel belongs. 


The person acting for the vessel in the matters above specified shall furnish such evidence as may be required by the Collector showing that the manifest has been supplied to the Auditor and, in the proper case, that the register has been deposited with the consul. 


Sec. 1008. Transit Cargo. — When transit cargo from a foreign port or other local ports is forwarded from the port of importation, separate manifest, in triplicate, shall be presented by each carrier. 


Sec. 1009. Clearance of Foreign Vessels To and From Coastwise Ports. — Passengers or articles arriving from abroad upon a foreign vessel may be carried by the same vessel through any port of entry to the port of destination in the Philippines; and passengers departing from the Philippines or articles intended for export may be carried in a foreign vessel through a Philippine port. 


Upon such reasonable condition as he may impose, the Commissioner may clear foreign vessels for any port and authorize the conveyance therein of either articles or passengers brought from abroad upon such vessels; and he may likewise, upon such conditions as he may impose, allow a foreign vessel to take cargo and passengers at any port and convey the same upon such vessel to a foreign port. 


Sec. 1010. Requirement as to Delivery of Mail. — A vessel arriving within a collection district in the Philippines shall not be permitted to make entry or break bulk until it is made to appear, to the satisfaction of the Collector, that the master, consignee or agent of the vessel is ready to deliver to the postmaster of the nearest post office all mail matter on board of such vessel and destined for that port. Collectors are authorized to examine and search vessels for mail carried contrary to law.  chanrobles virtual law library


Sec. 1011. Production of Philippine Crew. — The master of a Philippine vessel returning from abroad shall produce the entire crew listed in the vessel's shipping articles; and if any member be missing, the master shall produce proof satisfactory to the Collector that such member has died, absconded, has been forcibly impressed into other service, or has been discharged; and in case of discharge in a foreign country, he shall produce a certificate from the consul, vice-consul or consular agent of the Philippines there residing, showing that such discharge was effected with the consent of the representative of the Philippines aforesaid.


Sec. 1012. Record of Arrival and Entry of Vessels. — A record shall be made and kept open to public inspection in every customhouse of the dates of arrival and entry of all vessels. 


Sec. 1013. Arrest of Vessel Departing Before Entry Made. — When a vessel arriving within the limits of a collection district from a foreign port departs or attempts to depart before entry shall have been made, not being thereunto compelled by stress of weather, duress of enemies, or other necessity, the Collector or surveyor of the port or the commander of any revenue cutter may arrest and bring back such vessel to the most convenient port. 


Sec. 1014. Discharge of Ballast. — When not brought to port as article, ballast of no commercial value may be discharged upon permit granted by the Collector for such purpose. 


Sec. 1015. Time for Unlading of Cargo. — Articles brought in a vessel from a foreign port shall be unladen only during regular working hours on regular work days. Unlading at any other time or day may only be done upon authority of the Collector conditioned on the payment of losses and overtime pay by the interested parties.  chanrobles virtual law library


Sec. 1016. Entrance of Vessel through Necessity. — When a vessel from a foreign port is compelled by stress of weather or other necessity to put into any other port than that of her destination, the master, within twenty-four hours after her arrival, shall make protest under oath setting forth the causes or circumstances of such necessity. This protest, if not made before the Collector, must be produced to him, and a copy thereof lodged with him. 


Within the same time, the master shall make report to the Collector if any part of the cargo was unladen from necessity or lost by casualty before arrival, and such fact should be made to appear by sufficient proof to the Collector who shall give his approval thereto and the unlading shall be deemed to have been lawfully effected. 


Sec. 1017. Unlading of Vessel in Port from Necessity. — If the situation is such as to require the unlading of the vessel pending sojourn in port, the Collector shall, upon sufficient proof of the necessity, grant a permit therefor, and the articles shall be unladen and stored under the supervision of the customs authorities. 


At the request of the master of the vessel or of the owner thereof, the Collector may grant permission to enter and pay the duties, taxes and other charges on, and dispose of, such part of the cargo as may be of perishable nature or as may be necessary to defray the expenses attending the vessel. 


Upon departure, the cargo, or a residue thereof, may be reladen on board the vessel, and the vessel may proceed with the same to her destination, subject only to the charge for storing and safe-keeping of the articles and the fees for entrance and clearance. 


No port charges shall be collected on vessels entering through stress of weather or other causes above described. 


Sec. 1018. Entry and Clearance of Vessels of a Foreign Government. — The entry and clearance of transport or supply ship of a foreign government shall be in accordance with the agreement by and between the Philippines and the foreign government. 


Sec. 1019. Clearance of Vessel for Foreign Port. — Before a clearance shall be granted to any vessel bound to a foreign port, the master, or the agent thereof, shall present to the Collector the following properly authenticated documents:  chanrobles virtual law library


a. A bill of health from the quarantine official or official of the public health service in the port.  chanrobles virtual law library b. Three copies of the manifest of export cargo, one of which, upon certification by the customs official as to the correctness of the copy, shall be returned to the master.  chanrobles virtual law library c. Two copies of the passenger list, showing alien and other passengers. 
d. The register and shipping articles, if the vessel is of Philippine registry. 
e. The consular certificate of entry, if the vessel is of foreign registry, when required. 
f. A certificate of the Bureau of Posts to the effect that it received timely notice of the sailing of the vessel: Provided, That the Collector shall not permit any vessel to sail for a foreign port if the master or agent thereof refuses to receive bags of mail delivered to the same by the Bureau of Posts for transportation for reasonable compensation. In case the Director of Posts and said master or agent do not come to an agreement concerning the amount of the compensation to be paid for the carriage of the mail, the matter shall be submitted for decision to a Board of Referees composed of three members appointed, respectively, by the Bureau of Posts, the agency of the company to which the vessel concerned belongs, and the Bureau of Customs, which board shall fix a reasonable rate of compensation.


Sec. 1020. Detention of Warlike Vessel Containing Arms and Munitions. — Collectors shall detain any vessel of commercial registry manifestly built for warlike purposes and about to depart from the Philippines with a cargo consisting principally of arms and munitions of war, when the number of men shipped on board or other circumstances render it probable that such vessel is intended to be employed by the owner or owners to cruise or commit hostilities upon the subjects, citizens, or property of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people with whom the Philippines is at peace, until the decision of the President of the Philippines be had thereon, or until the owner or owners shall give bond or security, in double the value of the vessel and cargo, that she will not be so employed, if in the discretion of the Collector such bond will prevent the violation of the provisions of this section.  chanrobles virtual law library


Sec. 1021. Manifest of Export Cargo to be Delivered to Auditor. — The master shall, prior to departure, deliver or mail to the Auditor General, Manila, the returned copy of the manifest of export cargo. 


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Sec. 1022. Oath of Master of Departing Vessel. — The master of such departing vessel shall state under oath to the effect: 


a. That all cargo conveyed on said vessel, with destination to the Philippines, has been duly discharged or accounted for.  chanrobles virtual law library b. The he has mailed or delivered to the Auditor General Manila, a true copy of the outgoing cargo manifest.  chanrobles virtual law library c. That he has not received and will not convey any letters or other packets not enclosed in properly stamped envelopes sufficient to cover postage, except those relating to the cargo of the vessel, and that he has delivered at the proper foreign port all mails placed on board his vessel before her last clearance from the Philippines. 
d. That, if clearing without passenger, the vessel will not carry upon the instant voyage, from any Philippine port, any passenger of any class, or other person not entered upon the ship's declaration. 


Sec. 1023. Extension of Time for Clearance. — At the time of clearance, the master of a departing vessel shall be required to indicate the time of intended departure, and if the vessel should remain in port forty-eight hours after the time indicated the master shall report to the Collector for an extension of time for departure, and without such extension the original clearance shall be of no effect. 


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Sec. 1024. Necessity of Tax Clearance. — A Collector shall not allow products to be laden aboard a vessel clearing for a foreign port until the shipper shall produce a receipt from an internal revenue official showing that the taxes and other charges upon such products have been paid or a certificate from a proper official showing that the products are exempt from the payment of taxes and other charges. 


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Sec. 1025. Export Product to Conform to Standard Grades. — A Collector shall not permit products for which standard grades have been established by the government to be laden aboard a vessel clearing for a foreign port, unless the shipment conforms to the requirements of law relative to the shipment of such products. 


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PART 2
ENTRANCE AND CLEARANCE OF AIRCRAFT IN FOREIGN TRADE 


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Sec. 1101. Designation of Airports of Entry. — The department head concerned upon recommendation of the Commissioner and the Director of the Bureau of Civil Aviation is authorized to designate airports of entry for civil aircraft arriving in the Philippines from any place outside thereof and for articles carried on such aircraft. 


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Sec. 1102. Notice of Arrival. — (a) Non-scheduled Arrivals. — In cases where entry of an aircraft in an area is required, except as hereinafter provided, timely notice of the intended flight shall be furnished to the Collector or other customs official in charge at or nearest the intended place of first landing in such area, and to the quarantine and immigration officials in charge at or nearest such place of landing. If dependable facilities for giving notice are not available before departure, any radio equipment the plane possesses shall be utilized to give notice during its approach so far as feasible. If he has not given timely notice or if the government officials have not arrived, the pilot in command on landing shall hold the aircraft and any baggage and article thereon intact and keep the passengers and crew members in a segregated place until the inspecting officials arrive. Except where the uncertainty of communication facilities is already known to the government offices in charge, any pilot in command who has not given timely notice shall furnish affidavit stating the reasons for his failure to do so. Such notice shall specify the type of aircraft, the registration marks thereon, the name of the pilot in command, the place of last departure, the international airport, or other place at which landing has been authorized, the number of alien passengers, number of citizen passengers, and the estimated time of arrival; and shall be sent so as to be received in sufficient time to enable the officials designated to inspect the aircraft to reach the international airport or such other place of first landing prior to the arrival of the aircraft. 


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(b) Schedule Arrivals. — Such advance notice will not be required in the case of aircraft of a scheduled airline arriving in accordance with the regular schedule filed with the Collector for the district in which the place of first landing in the area is situated and also with the immigration officials in charge of such place.

 


Sec. 1103. Landing at International Airports of Entry. — Except in the case of forced landings, aircraft arriving in the Philippines from any foreign port or place shall make the first landing at an international airport, unless permission to land elsewhere than at an international airport is first obtained from the Commissioner and in such cases the owner or person in charge of the aircraft shall pay the expenses, if any, incurred in inspecting the craft, articles, passengers and baggage carried therein, and such aircraft shall be subject to the authority of the Collector at the airport while within his jurisdiction. 


Sec. 1104. Report of Arrival. — The pilot in command of any aircraft arriving from a foreign port or place shall immediately report his arrival to the Collector at the airport of entry or to the customs official detailed to meet the aircraft at the place of landing. Such aircraft upon arrival shall be boarded by the quarantine official and after pratique is granted shall be boarded by customs official, and no person shall be permitted to board or leave the aircraft without the permission of the customs official in charge. The pilot in command or any other authorized agent of the owner or operator of the aircraft shall make the necessary entry. No such aircraft shall without previous permission therefor from the Collector, depart from the place of first landing or discharge articles, passengers or baggage. 


Sec. 1105. Documents Required to be Presented in Making Entry. — a. For the purpose of making entry, there shall be presented to the customs boarding official four copies of a general declaration which shall contain the following data: 


1. Name of owner or operator of aircraft; registration marks and nationality of aircraft;  chanrobles virtual law library 2. Points of clearance and entry and date of arrival;  chanrobles virtual law library 3. Health and customs clearance at the last airport of departure; 
4. Itinerary of aircraft including information as to airports of origin and departure dates;
5. Names and nationality of crew members; 
6. List of passengers, their nationality, places of embarkation and destination, and number of accompanying baggages; 
7. Cargo manifest together with information as to names of consignees, their nationalities and their addresses, numbers and marks of packages, nature of goods, destination, gross weight and value; 
8. Store list. 


b. The general declaration shall be written in English and certified to and duly signed by the pilot in command or operator of his aircraft or the authorized agent. If the aircraft does not carry cargo, passengers or immigrants, such facts must be shown in the manifest.  chanrobles virtual law library


c. Cargo manifest shall in no case be changed or altered after entry of the aircraft, except by means of an amendment by the pilot in command or authorized agent thereof, under oath, and attached to the original manifest: Provided, however, That after the invoice and/or entry covering an importation have been received and recorded in the office of the appraiser, no amendment shall be allowed, except when it is obvious that a clerical error or any other discrepancy has been committed without any fraudulent intent in the preparation of the manifest, discovery of which could not have been made until after examination of the importation has been completed.


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Sec. 1106. Manifest for Auditor General. — The pilot in command or authorized agent of an aircraft, upon arrival from a foreign country, shall deliver or mail to the Auditor General, Manila, a copy of the general declaration properly indorsed by the customs official; and within twenty-four hours after arrival he shall present to the Collector the original copy of the general declaration: Provided, That if the aircraft has been authorized to land at the place other than an international airport of entry, the presentation of said papers should be made to the customs official detailed to meet the aircraft at the place of first landing in the Philippines. 


Sec. 1107. Delivery of Mails. — Aircraft arriving within a customs collection district in the Philippines shall not be permitted to make entry until it is shown to the satisfaction of the Collector that the pilot in command or authorized agent is ready to deliver to the postmaster or the nearest post-office all mail matters on board such aircraft and destined for that port. 


Sec. 1108. Imported Cargoes — Inspection: Payment of Duty. — All articles imported or brought into the Philippines by aircraft from a foreign port shall be unladen in the presence of and be inspected by customs officials and, whether dutiable or not, shall be duly entered through a customhouse at an airport of entry. 


Sec. 1109. Bonding of Carrier Transporting Articles in Bond. — Aircraft of Philippine Registry engaged in conveying dutiable articles in bond from an airport of entry to another airport in the Philippines shall give security in the nature of a general transportation bond in a sum to be fixed by the Collector, conditioned that the carrier shall transport and deliver without delay, and in accordance with law and regulations, to the Collector at the port of destination all articles in bond delivered to such carrier and that all proper charges and expenses incurred by reason of such shipments shall be duly paid.


Sec. 1110. Manifest for Transit Cargo. — When transit cargo from a foreign port or other local ports is forwarded from the port of importation, separate manifest, in triplicate, shall be presented by each carrier.  chanrobles virtual law library


Sec. 1111. Clearance for Foreign Ports. —   a. Any aircraft of Philippine registry transporting passengers or articles for hire, and all aircraft of foreign registry, bound to a foreign port, shall clear at an airport of entry or at the same place where such aircraft has been authorized to make its landing by the Commissioner. 


b. Before clearance shall be granted to an aircraft bound to a foreign port, there shall be presented to the Collector or to the customs official detailed at the place of departure four copies of a general declaration properly signed by him and containing the following data: 


1. Name of owner or operator of aircraft; registration marks and nationality of aircraft;  chanrobles virtual law library 2. Point of clearance, date thereof and destination;  chanrobles virtual law library 3. Health and customs clearance; 
4. Itinerary of aircraft including information as to airports of destination and departure dates; 
5. Names and nationality of crew members; 
6. List of passengers, their nationality, place of embarkation and destination, and number of accompanying baggages; 
7. Export cargo manifest with specifications as to names of consignees, their nationalities and addresses, numbers and marks of packages, nature of articles, destination, gross weight and values; 
8. Store list. 


Sec. 1112. Oath of Person in Charge of Departing Aircraft. — The pilot in command of such departing aircraft shall also state under oath to the effect that: 

a. All cargo conveyed on said aircraft, with destination to the Philippines has been duly discharged or accounted for.  chanrobles virtual law library


b. He has mailed or delivered to the Auditor General, Manila, a true copy of the outgoing general declaration. 


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c. He has not received nor will convey any letter or packet not enclosed in properly stamped envelope sufficient to cover postage, except those relating to the cargo of the aircraft, and that he has delivered to the proper foreign port all mails placed on board his aircraft before its last clearance from the Philippines. 


d. If clearing without passengers, the aircraft will not carry upon departure from any Philippine airport, any passenger. 

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