The Bureau of Customs just released a memorandum order that can make sending packages home more burdensome for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Customs Memorandum Order 04-2017 states that starting August 1, only the relatives of the sender will be allowed to receive balikbayan boxes, GMA News reported on Thursday.
The new regulations also states that a balikbayan box must include a list of its contents as well as receipts for newly purchased items.
“Ito ay magpapabigat sa ating mga kababayan..kung pinadala niya po ito sa kanyang kaibigan, sa kanyang girlfriend o sa kanyang nobya, hindi po siyang maaring magkaroon ng availment doon sa insentibong o pribileyong ibinibigay ng batas,” GMA News quoted lawyer James Ian Dela Vega, counsel for Door To Door Consolidators Association of the Philippines as saying.
Under the memorandum, senders must also prove their Filipino citizenship by giving a xeroxed copy of their passports to the forwarding company
“Kung sakaling mali, hindi kumpleto, walang resibo, maaring patawan siya ng Bureau of Customs ng kaukulang duties and taxes para sa pinadala niyang mga personal na bagay na walang tamang suportang tamang dokumento o papel,” Dela Vega added.
But according to the chief of Manila International Container Port’s Informal Entry Division, Athena Dans, all the new regulations are similar to the practices of other countries.
“That’s a declaration. You are declaring what’s inside the box. Basic naman yan sa customs all over the world. You have to declare what you are importing,” she said.
Dans reminded OFWs to follow the regulations that they will have nothing to worry about in sending packages to their loved ones in the Philippines.
Credit: GMA News
Photo Credit: odongoo.com
dapat nitong c sec faeldon magsama uli cla ni trillanes at magkudita at pti n yn chief athena, phirap tong ginawa nyo sa mga OFW, madam athena ung i diklara ang laman ng box madali yn tulad ng sbi mu basic pero ung resebo, paanu kung tulad ng ipabagahi ko bago kso nung nkaraan taon p yn ipon2 pra nkapuno ng box eh wala nang resebo, anu ang gagawin ko dyan..