CAO 3-2017 Flashcards
shall refer to the determination by the Bureau or by the qualified senders that the Balikbayan Boxes brought in or sent are counted as first, second or third within a calendar year and thus entitled to duty and tax exemption pursuant to Section 800 (g), Chapter 1, Title VIII, CMTA. Any amount in excess of the allowable non-dutiable and non-taxable value shall be subject to the applicable duties and taxes.
Shipment that is above the De Minimis threshold shall be automatically considered as one Availment. De Minimis importation shall not be included in the counting of Availment; provided that the Qualified Filipinos While Abroad can only send to one ultimate consignee in one consolidated shipment.1
Availment -
shall refer to a corrugated box or other container or receptacle up to a maximum volume of two hundred thousand (200,000) gross cubic centimeters without regard as to the shape of the container or receptacle.
For purposes of duty and tax exemption, the Balikbayan Box should contain only personal and household effects that shall neither be in commercial quantities nor intended for barter, sale or for hire sent by Qualified Filipinos While Abroad often shipped by consolidators specializing in Balikbayan Boxes by sea or air.2
Balikbayan Box
shall refer to the period from January 1 to
December 31 of the same year.
Calendar Year -
shall refer to the Central Mail Exchange Center of the designated postal operator of the Philippines, where mails and packages conveyed by air are inspected, assessed, documented and stored.
Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC)
shall refer to the quantity for a given kind or class of articles which are in excess of what is compatible with and commensurate to the person’s normal requirements for personal use. For a single sender with multiple ultimate consignees, commercial quantity of a given class shall be determined based on the total quantity thereof sent by the sender to all the consignees.
Commercial Quantity -
shall refer to a postal item where the condition of the external packaging is damaged by weather or improper handling, cut, torn and/or broken, or not intact.6
Damaged Postal Item -
shall refer to the value of goods for which
no duty or tax is collected.?
De Minimis Value -
shall refer to an international commercial term covered by the Incoterms rules developed by International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) which means free carrier of that the seller delivers the goods to the carrier or another person nominated by the buyer at the seller’s premises or another named place. The parties of this type of sale are well advised to specify clearly as possible the point within the named place of delivery, as the risk passes to the buyer at that point.R
Free Carrier (FCA) -
shall refer to an international commercial term covered by the Incoterms rules developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) which means free on board or that seller delivers the goods on board the vessel nominated by the buyer at the named port of shipment or procures the goods already delivered. The risk of loss of or damage to the goods passes when the goods are on board the vessel, and the buyer bears all costs from that moment onwards.9
Free On Board (FOB)
shall refer to the Foreign Surface Mail Exchange Center of the designated postal operator of the Philippines, where mails and packages conveyed by sea or surface are inspected, assessed, documented and stored.11
Foreign Surface Mail Exchange Center (FSMDC)-
shall refer to furniture, dishes, linens, libraries, and similar household furnishing for personal use.
Household Effects
shall refer to the following receptacle label of a postal dispatch: 1) Carrier misdelivered postal dispatch to air or sea port or to PHLPost; 2) Receptacle mislabeled or receptacle label is PHLPost but destination postal operator in the dispatch documents is not PHLPost.13
Misrouted or Missent Dispatch
shall refer to those Filipinos who have established permanent residency abroad but have retained Filipino citizenship, whether or not they have availed of the benefits under Republic Act No. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003,14
Non-Resident Filipinos -
shall refer to the postal facilities of the designated postal operator of the Philippines receiving, handling, processing, dispatching and/or delivering postal items from other countries, such as but not limited to: 1) Airmail Exchange Department (AMED); 2) Express Mail Exchange Department (EMED); 3) Foreign Surface Mail Distribution Center (FSMDC) formerly known as the Surface Mail Exchange Department (SMED) and other OES that may be established in the future. 15
Offices of Exchange (OE) -
shall refer to a holder of a valid passport issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and certified by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) or Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for overseas employment purposes. This covers all Filipinos working in a foreign country under employment contracts, regardless of their professions, skills or employment status in a foreign country.16 For purposes of this CAO, the term OFW includes Filipinos working abroad under job contracts who do not require a certification from the DOLE or the POEA.17
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) -
shall refer to commodities whether new or used, for personal use or consumption and not for commercial purposes, such as wearing apparel, personal adornments, electronic gadgets, toiletries, or similar items.
Personal Effects -
shall refer to the special declaration forms for Postal Items as described in the Acts of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) currently in force
Postal Customs Declaration Form -
is a generic term referring to anything dispatched under postal services including mail-letter post, parcel post, money orders, etc.
Postal Item -
The importation and exportation of the following goods are prohibited:
a. Written or printed goods in any form containing any matter advocating or inciting treason, rebellion, insurrection, sedition against the government of the Philippines, or forcible resistance to any law of the Philippines, or written or printed goods containing any threat to take the life of, or inflict bodily harm upon any person in the Philippines;
b. Goods, instruments, drugs and substances designed, intended or adapted for producing unlawful abortion, or any printed matter which advertises, describes or gives direct or indirect information where, how or by whom unlawful abortion is committed;
c. Written or printed goods, negatives or cinematographic films, photographs, engravings, lithographs, objects, paintings, drawings or other representation of an obscene or immoral character;
d. Any goods manufactured in whole or in part of gold, silver or other precious metals or alloys and the stamp, brand or mark does not Indicate the actual fineness of quality of the metals or alloys;
e. Any adulterated or misbranded food or goods for human consumption or any adulterated or misbranded drug in violation of relevant laws and regulations;
f. Infringing goods as defined under the Intellectual Property Code and related laws; and
g. All other goods or parts thereof which importation and exportation are explicitly prohibited by law or rules and regulations issued by the competent authority 20
Prohibited Importation and Exportation -
A collective term used to refer to Non-Resident Filipinos defined in Section 3.13, OFWS defined in Section 3.15 and Resident Filipinos under Section 3.22 of this CAO.
Qualified Filipinos While Abroad -
Goods which are subject to regulation shall be imported and exported only after securing the necessary goods declaration, clearances, licenses, and any other requirements, prior to importation and exportation. In case of importation, submission of requirements after arrival of the goods but prior to release from customs custody shall be allowed but only in cases provided for by governing laws or regulations.21
. Regulated Importation and Exportation -
shall refer to Resident Filipino citizens who temporarily stay abroad which may include holders of student visa, holders of investors’ visa, holders of tourist visa and similar visas which allow them to establish temporary stay abroad.
Resident Filipinos -
Except when authorized by law or regulation, the importation and exportation of the following restricted goods are prohibited:
a. Dynamite, gunpowder, ammunitions and other explosives, firearms and weapons of war, or parts thereof;
b. Roulette wheels, gambling outfits, loaded dice, marked cards, machines, apparatus or mechanical devices used in gambling or the distribution of money, cigars, cigarettes or other goods when such distribution is dependent on chance, including jackpot and pinball machines or similar contrivances, or parts thereof;
c. Lottery and sweepstakes tickets, except advertisements thereof and lists of drawings therein;
d. Marijuana, opium, poppies, coca leaves, heroin or other narcotics or synthetic drugs which are or may hereafter be declared habit forming by the President of the Philippines, or any compound, manufactured salt, derivative, or preparation thereof, except when imported by the government of the Philippines or any person duly authorized by the Dangerous Drugs Board, for medicinal purposes;
e. Opium pipes or parts thereof, of whatever material; f. Weapons of Mass Destruction and goods included in the National Strategic Goods List (NSGL) as provided under Republic Act No. 10697 or the Strategic Trade Management Act (STMA);
g. Toxic and hazardous goods under Republic Act No. 6969 or the “Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990”; and
h. Any other goods whose importation and exportation are restricted.
The restriction to import or export the above stated goods shall
include the restriction on their transit.
- Restricted Importation and Exportation -
- shall refer to a Filipino national who has stayed abroad for a period of at least six (6) months and returning to the Philippines.23 For purposes of Availment of the privilege, it shall be understood that “Returning Resident” includes spouse and dependent children. 24
Returning Resident
shall refer to a non-priority Postal Item conveyed by air from the foreign country of origin and transported within the Philippines by vessel or ship.25
Surface Airlifted Item -
shall refer to the customs procedure under which goods are transferred under customs control from the importing means of transport to the exporting means of transport within the area of one customs office, which is the office of both importation and exportation.26
Transshipment
shall refer to the inter- governmental organization founded in 1874 by the Treaty of Bern as the “General Postal Union”, which, in 1878, was renamed the “Universal Postal Union (UPU)’ which since 1948 has been a specialized agency of the United Nations.27
Universal Postal Union (UPU)
