BOC CUSTOMS MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 8-93, February 24, 1993

[ BOC CUSTOMS MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 8-93, February 24, 1993 ]

RULES ON THE ISSUANCE OF ALERT/HOLD ORDERS

I Objectives

1. To promote harmony and complementation in the operations of law enforcement units of the Bureau.

2. To expedite completion of action in the clearance of shipments including those subject of derogatory information.

II SCOPE

This Order shall apply on shipments unloaded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Laoag International Airport, Cebu International Airport and Zamboanga International Airport.

III GENERAL PROVISIONS

The provisions of CMO 92-91 dated 13 November 1991, except in so far as those provisions in conflict with this Order shall be strictly observed.

IV SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. It shall be a violation of specific instructions to delay, obstruct and/or impede the clearance, delivery or movement of any shipment unless there is a duly issued and valid Hold/Alert Order.

2. For a Hold/Alert Order to be valid, it must be presented to the Duty Officer designated for the purpose at the Office of the District Collector for recording and the affixing of the Office of the Collector's dry seal.

3. A computer file of all Hold Orders issued shall be maintained at the office of the Collector containing the following details:

Date the Hold Order Request was presented

Time of the Receipt of the Hold Order

Requesting Law Enforcement Unit

Name of Aircraft

Registry

Flight Number

Master Airwaybill

House Airwaybill

Description of Goods

Specific violations believed to have been committed

4. The Duty Officer shall, before affixing the seal on the Order, query first the file if a previous order has already been issued. He shall advise the requesting party accordingly of the Order already issued (if any) and of the outcome if already available. If the requesting unit would like that a new Hold Order be issued after an earlier one has been lifted, a written request shall be made for clearance of the Collector, stating the reasons why a new order must be issued.

5. The law enforcement unit concerned shall endeavor to complete the verification within forty-eight (48) hours from the time the Hold Order was received at the Office of the Collector. Should the verification not be completed during the period, a report shall be rendered to the official who issued the order explaining the reason for the non-completion of the verification and requesting for extension of the validity of the order stating the new date within which the verification shall be completed. A copy of the approved extension shall be furnished the duty officer for proper notation in the computer file.

6. On or before the expiry of the validity of an Order, the law enforcement unit concerned shall submit a report on the action they have taken to the Collector of Customs concerned which can be in any of the following form:

Recommendation for the Issuance of a Warrant of Seizure and Detention.

Recommendation for the payment of additional duties and taxes or the presentation of required documents.

Recommendation for the lifting of the alert/hold order.

A copy of the recommendation duly received by the Collector shall be presented to the Duty Officer, Office of the Collector for appropriate recording.

7. Additional fields in the computer file described in III-A shall be provided to accept the information in 6 above as follows:

a. Date action was completed

b. Nature of action taken:

b.1 Seizure b.3 Additional documentation

b.2 Additional duties and taxes b.4 Lifting

8. To prevent a large number of consolidated shipments from being subjected to Alert/Hold Order, the House Airwaybill must be specified, otherwise, the request for issuance of an Alert/Hold Order on consolidated shipments based on the Master Airwaybill shall be denied.

9. Law enforcement units shall conduct their intelligence operations in the manner that would not impede, obstruct or delay the regular clearance procedure of shipments. Hold Orders shall only be requested whenever a confirmed information is available on the violation/s committed in the shipment. It is desirable that law enforcement units conduct their operations in covert manner.

10. A monthly report showing the outcome of Alert/Hold Orders for the month shall be made available to the law enforcement units for their feedback to serve as basis for rating the units and/or fine tuning their operations. The report shall follow the format shown in Annex "A" (see below) which forms an integral part of this Order. Another report showing the cumulative results and following the format in Annex "B" (see below) shall also be prepared as added feedback to the units. A less than 85% success rate may be a ground for suspension of the power to issue Alert/Hold Order of any particular unit.

V

All previous orders inconsistent with this Order are hereby modified and amended accordingly.

VI

This Order shall take effect immediately.

(Sgd.) GUILLERMO L. PARAYNO, JR. Commissioner

ANNEX A SUMMARY REPORT ON RESULT OF HOLD ORDERS: for the month of

_________________

Law Enforcement Unit

For Seizure

For Payment /Document

Released

Pending

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

| | | |

| | | |

ANNEX B SUMMARY REPORT ON RESULTS OF HOLD ORDERS: As of ___________