BOC to require at least P2M bond from balikbayan box forwarders

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has revised its proposed rules and regulations on the registration of sea cargo consolidators as third parties and on the conduct of their business with the bureau.

BOC called for position papers and participation in a public consultation on November 13 for the proposed draft customs administrative order (CAO) that will cover the registration of Philippine-accredited deconsolidators handling sea cargoes in relation to CAO No. 1-2018 (amended rules on consolidated shipment of balikbayan boxes), and CAO No. 6-2019 (registration of third parties dealing with BOC) in relation to CAO No. 7-2022 (accreditation of importers).

A similar draft CAO was released in 2024, also seeking stakeholders’ comments, but was not finalized.

Under the new draft, a deconsolidator refers to a local freight forwarder doing business in the Philippines and acting as subsidiary, parent company or a branch office of the consolidator, that provides services to ungroup or deconsolidate shipments, orders, goods, etc. to facilitate distribution.

This story was originally published by PortCalls Asia. Read the full story at PortCalls Asia →