MANILA — The Bureau of Customs (BoC) of the Philippines has directed its personnel to complete customs assessments within five days and to accelerate the release of legitimate shipments as part of efforts to streamline the country's trade processes.

“Customs personnel have been directed to complete assessments within five days, while airport shipments with complete documents are generally expected to be released within one day and, at most, three days,” the BoC said in a statement on Thursday.

The Bureau of Customs, an agency under the Philippines' Department of Finance, is tasked with assessing and collecting duties and taxes on goods entering the country and with regulating cargo movements through its ports, airports, and land border crossings. Clearance speed has long been a focus of reform at the agency, whose operations are closely watched by importers, customs brokers, and logistics providers — for these businesses, release times determine when goods can leave ports and airports for distribution, making the newly stated timelines concrete service benchmarks for the trading community.

Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said digitalization will remain central to the BoC's reforms, as the agency adopts new technologies and digital solutions to improve processes and address longstanding operational challenges — an approach that speaks directly to the trade facilitation side of the bureau's three-part mandate.

“With the help of our other officers, the Bureau of Customs will be different, better than when we inherited the agency,” he said.

Aside from streamlining customs procedures, the BoC is also preparing for potential congestion at the country's ports.

“The BoC is likewise preparing for increased shipment volumes and potential port congestion while strengthening its three core mandates of revenue collection, trade facilitation, and enforcement,” the agency said.

For traders, the practical measure of the directive will be whether the stated release windows hold as shipment volumes rise and congestion risks materialize.

The directive follows a record P757.406 billion in collections by the bureau in the first nine months of the year, exceeding its P748.494-billion target by P8.913 billion, or 1.2% — a run of above-target revenue that accompanies the bureau's renewed emphasis on moving legitimate cargo faster.

“Through these reforms, the BoC continues to pursue faster and more reliable Customs services while strengthening border protection and facilitating legitimate trade,” it added.

— Justine Irish D. Tabile, BusinessWorld. Original report: BoC personnel told to speed up release of shipments