REPUBLIC ACT NO. 650 - AN ACT TO REGULATE IMPORTS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. No commodity may be imported into the Philippines without an import license issued in accordance with the provisions of this Act, with the exception of the cases mentioned in section ten hereof: Provided, That the President of the Philippines, at any time may, by executive order, when the public welfare so demands, direct the importation of any class or kind of commodity without the need of any kind of license which directly or indirectly limits or controls importation and foreign exchange.

SEC. 2. The import license provided for in section one of this Act shall be issued by the President of the Philippines through such existing board or instrumentality of the Government as he may choose or create to assist him in the execution of this Act. No other government instrumentality or agency shall be authorized to qualify or question the validity of any license so issued. Questions of legality and interpretation of any license shall be decided exclusively by said board or instrumentality subject to appeal to the President.

SEC. 3. The President, on recommendation of the board or instrumentality provided for in section two, shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Act:

Issue rules and regulations for the enforcement of this Act;

Formulate policies for the granting of quota allocations and import licenses;

Budget the dollars certified and made available for imports by the Central Bank of the Philippines, among commodities or groups of commodities;

Delete or add items to appendix "A"; and

Reduce or ban the importation of non-essential commodities and those that are already produced economically and in sufficient quantities in the Philippines, except what may be imported under section ten of this Act.

SEC. 4. In budgeting the dollars available for essential imports, dollars shall be allocated for the importation of machinery, equipments, and raw materials for essential industries which should be encouraged and protected: Provided, however, That in the granting of dollar exchange, first priority shall be given to any government agency which is charged with the duties and functions of stockpiling essential articles, goods, or commodities, and/or with the stabilization of prices; and to all government agencies and instrumentalities for their essential needs as approved by the Department Secretary concerned.

Second priority shall be granted the needs of bona fide producers as regards the capital equipment and raw materials needed by them to the extent that they are not produced locally in adequate quantities.

After meeting the requirements mentioned above in the preceding paragraphs, the balance of the available foreign exchange shall be distributed among business firms and bona fide importers in accordance with the rules and regulations in the allocation of quotas, in proportion to their individual average importation in the year 1949, including such reasonable allocation for bona fide new Filipino importers as would encourage them to participate in importation.

The term "producers" shall include not only producers of agricultural and industrial products, but also public utilities, hospitals, publishers, educational institutions and, in general, institutions promoting the economic development of the country.

SEC. 5. The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of the Philippines shall certify and publish, immediately upon the passage of this Act, every six months thereafter, and also at any other time as it may deem advisable, the value of foreign exchange which shall be available for imports for the corresponding period.

SEC. 6. No import license shall be issued without available foreign exchange to cover such license, with the exception of cases enumerated in section ten of this Act.

SEC. 7. Upon the presentation to the Bureau of Customs of a duly issued import license, it shall be the ministerial duty of said Bureau to allow the entry of the import items covered by such import license.

SEC. 8. Unless extended in accordance with the rules and regulations, import licenses issued under this Act and which are not used within thirty days after their issue by the opening of a letter of credit or a similar transaction shall be null and void. Import licenses are non-transferable.

SEC. 9. Anyone who has been granted an import and corresponding foreign exchange license shall account for the investment of the latter, and, if found to have an unexpended balance, the allocation for such balance shall be cancelled. The foreign exchange corresponding to quota allocations and import licenses not used, may be the subject of new quota allocations to be issued in conformity with the rules and regulations.

SEC. 10. The following shall not be subject to import control and can be brought into Philippine jurisdiction without license:

Commodities of a value not exceeding five thousand pesos (P5.000) already used in a foreign country by the person or family importing the same, and which are being imported for the personal use of the person or family importing them, as well as gifts sent from abroad through the post office, of a value not more than one hundred pesos (P100) each gift, unless there is evidence of abuse in the use of this privilege; and

Commodities brought from abroad by a person who is returning to the Philippines, provided they are not being brought for commercial purposes, and do not exceed one thousand pesos (P1,000) in value, unless there is evidence of abuse in the use of this privilege.

SEC. 11. Any provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, import license shall be granted for the following:

Commodities brought from abroad without requiring foreign exchange and imported for purposes of investment in the Philippines: Provided, That the proceeds from these goods shall be deposited in any bank and may not be withdrawn therefrom except upon proper showing to the depository bank that said proceeds will be invested in the Philippines.

Goods imported from countries with which the Philippines has barter trade agreements, preference being given to producers who export to said countries.

SEC. 12. Quota allocations and import licenses granted in favor of an importer who is not a producer, covering essential commodities listed in Appendix "A" may be subjected by the Board of Directors of the Price Stabilization Corporation to a system of controls and rationing in its distribution, subject to such rules and regulations as may be issued by the said Board.

SEC. 13. All import licenses issued to any importer who is not a producer shall contain the condition that the importer shall reserve not less than fifty per cent of his imports for sale to bona fide Filipino merchants at the same mark-ups granted to his regular trade outlets. An importer who is unable to sell fifty per cent of his import to Filipino merchants shall apply to the President for authority to release the unused portions: Provided, That nothing contained in this Act shall in any way impair or abridge the rights granted to citizens and juridical entities of the United States of America under the Executive Agreement signed on July fourth, nineteen hundred and forty-six, between that country and the Republic of the Philippines.

SEC. 14. All applications for quota allocations and import licenses and all quota allocations and import licenses granted, as well as decisions, policies, rulings, orders and actions issued or taken under this Act shall be given wide publicity. The rules and regulations shall be published at least ten days before their respective dates of effectivity, giving all interested parties the opportunity within that time to present their views for consideration.

SEC. 15. The President may summarily bar firms or individuals from filing applications for import and/or from doing business in the Philippines for any of the following acts:

Any material misrepresentation in any document required by this Act or any rules or regulations issued in pursuance thereto;

Any violation of the provisions of this Act or any rules or regulations issued thereunder; and

The payment to any public official, directly or in directly, of any fee, premium or compensation other than those allowed by laws or regulations, in connection with the issuance or granting of quota allocations or licenses.

SEC. 16. There shall be collected on all import licenses granted a license fee of two per cent of the face value of the license, which may be used to defray the expenses of licensing. Any unexpended balance thereof shall accrue to the general funds.

SEC. 17. All valid quotas and licenses regularly approved by the previous Import Control Administration, the Import Control Board and the Price Stabilization Corporation before the effectivity of this Act shall be recognized and given full force and effect.

SEC. 18. The penalty or fine of not less than two thousand pesos (P2,000) nor more than twenty thousand pesos (P20,000), or imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than five years, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the Court shall be imposed upon persons who may be found guilty of the following acts:

Any material misrepresentation in any document required by this Act or the rules and regulations issued thereunder;

Any violation of any provisions of this Act or of the rules and regulations issued in pursuance thereto by officers or employees having to do with the enforcement of the same;

The receiving or accepting, by any public official or employee directly or indirectly, of fees, premiums or compensations of any kind other than those allowed by law or by the rules and regulations, for the performance of any act or service connected with the issuance of import license or quota allocation;

Any violation of any provisions of this Act or of the rules and regulations issued thereunder: Provided, That in the case of aliens, the penalty to be imposed shall consist of the payment of the fine hereinabove provided for and that of immediate deportation without any further proceedings on the part of any Deportation Board; Provided, further, That if the violation is committed by the manager, representative, director, agent or employee of any natural or juridical person in the interest of the latter, such violation shall render the employer amenable to the penalty corresponding to the offense, without prejudice to the imposition of the corresponding penalty, either personal or pecuniary or both, upon the manager, representative, director, agent or employee committing the violation:

Provided, furthermore, That in the case of the violation being committed by or in the interest of a foreign juridical person duly licensed to engage in business in the Philippines, the immediate revocation of such license to engage in business shall form part of the penalty to be imposed:

Provided, also, That if the act committed by a public officer or employee is penalized by any other law, the penalties prescribed in the law punishing the offense shall be imposed in addition to those prescribed herein and that of perpetual absolute disqualification:

And provided, finally, That articles, goods or commodities imported in violation of this Act shall be subject to forfeiture in accordance with the procedure established in the Revised Administrative Code, the proceedings to terminate within thirty (30) days after the importation, and under no circumstances or conditions may such goods be released to the importer without the previous approval of the President.

SEC. 19. Any sections and provisions of this Act that may be declared unconstitutional by a competent court shall not affect the remaining provisions hereof.

SEC. 20. Republic Act Numbered Four hundred and twenty-six and Executive Orders Numbered Three hundred and eighty-four and Three hundred and eighty-eight, series of 1950 and 1951, respectively, as well as any other law or order contrary to the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

SEC. 21. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1951 and continue in effect until June 30, 1953 unless sooner repealed or amended by Congress.

Approved, June 15, 1951.

APPENDIX "A"

COMPLETELY DECONTROLLED ITEMS

Rice Flour Tinned Fish

Sardines Squid Makerel Herring Salmon Tinned Milk

Tinned Beef

Corned Beef Canned Vienna Sausage Corned Meat Spread Frozen Beef

Colege Textbooks Used clothing Paper and other materials for books All items decontrolled or ordered imported without limitation as to volume and value by Executive Orders promulgated before the effectivity of this Act.

ESSENTIAL ITEMS OF IMPORT

(Italiced words are classifications, not items of import)

Animal, Products, inedible

Hides and Skins

Cattle Other hides and Skins

Leather, unmanufacture

Chamois Sole and harness leather Upper leather patent Leather Other unmanufactured leather

Leather, manufactures

Belting Belting leather Artificial Leather

Other inedible animal products

Glues Animal wax

Grains and preparations

Poultry feeds

Vegetable preparations and vegetables

Yeast

Rubber and manufactures

Belts Beltings Cement (rubber) Heels Hose Packing and gaskets Sheets, crude Sheets, manufactured Sheeting and coling Soles, inner Soles, outer Rubber, friction tapes Tires

Gums Arabic

Tragacanth Other gums

Resins

Camphor Rosen, resins Shellac Other resins and balsams Turpentine Linseed oil

Seeds and nursery stock

Seedlings, bulbs and plants Onion seeds Other vegetables seeds All other seeds

Miscellaneous vegetable products

Fodder and feeds

Forage crop

Fodder Other forage crop Animal feeds

Hops

Textiles and manufactures

Cotton

Unmanufactured

Raw Cotton Semi-Manufactures

Waste Cotton Yarns

Unmercerized Mercerized

Twines

Manufactures

Cloth Threads, Sewing and Crochet

Unbleached Bleached

For Embroidery

Other

Fabrics

Remmants

Miscellaneous Cotton Manufactures

Beltings Filter Cloth Ribbon, Ink

Shoe Tops, Rubberized Fabrics

Flax or linen

Jute and other fibers

Bags Burlaps and Baggings Cordage Oakum Threads and Twines Others

Wool and wool manufactures

Semi-manufactures Manufactures

Woven Fabrics

Waste wool

Hair and Manufactures

Bristles

Rayon or Other Synthetic Textiles

Manufactures of

Woven Fabrics

Cloths

Remnants

Other manufactures

Threads Yarns

Cork and manufactures

Stoppers

Board or in Sheets

Paper and manufactures

Unprinted

Cigarette paper

Paper for adding machine and cash register

Printing paper

For Books For Newspapers

Roofing felt and sheathing Paste board and cardboard

Wallboard

Non-metallic minerals

Natural gas Coal and related fuel

Coal Coke

Petroleum products

Bunker fuel oil Diesel oil Gasoline and other motor spirits Naphthas-all lighter products of distillation Kerosene Lubricating oils Coal tar Creosote or dead oil Flotation oils Grease Petroleum asphalt

Unmanufactured Other manufactures of asphalt

Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) Residium and all other petroleum products from which light bodies have been distilled Wax, mineral and paraffin

Gypsum products

Gypsum Plaster of Paris sulphur Talc Powder (Not face powder) Glass and Glass Products

Plate glass Window glass Sheets glass (not plate nor window)

Bottles, vials, jars, etc.

Bottles and jars Ampules and vials Demijohns Optical glass and lenses

Clay, Clay Products and other manufactures

Chalk, crude China clay, kaolin Fire clay Fuller's earth Graphite or plumbago Pumice Silica

Manufactures

Asbestos

Packing

Shingles and roofing Textiles Other asbestos

Clay, Clay Products, etc.

Manufactures

Bricks, fire Emery cloth and Emery paper Emery sand and powder Emery or corundum wheels Grind stones Hones and Whetstones Sewer pipe and conduits

Metal and manufactures

Iron and steel Semi-manufacture

Pig iron Bar iron Boiler plates Steel rods and bars

Sheet, plates and hoop iron

Band Hoop Iron Corrugated roofing Plain, galvanized Tin plates, terneplates and Jaggers tin

Other galvanized

Scrap, tin plates Steel Mill Products

Structural Iron and Steel Angles and channels Beams

Railroad track materials Pre-fabricated

Structural Casting and gorgings Other structural

Wire and manufacture

Barb wire Cables and Wire ropes Gauze Netting, fencing and fence gates Round wire Bright nail wire Roofing nails Except finishing nails

Spikes Tacks, stapples, etc. Nuts, bolts, washers and rivets

Advance Manufactures

Buckets Chains Horse shoes Needles

Iron and Steel

Advance Manufactures

Tools

Augers,drills, braces, gimlets amd reamers

Axes, Adz and hatchets File and rasps Gauges, square and levelers Hammers Hoes, rakes and shovels Planes and chisels Pliers Saws Vices Wrench Mechanics tools not else specified All other tools

Incubators and brooders-not electric Heating and cooking equipments Welding equipment (oxy-acetylene) Butts and hinges Locks Pipes and Fittings

Cast iron (soil)

Steel, Black Steel, galvanized

Screws Tackles, pulleys

Machinery except agricultural and electrical

Printing and book binding machinery

Book binding machine Printing, machine and parts Typesetting machines Typesetting machines parts

Power Generating machinery

Boilers and parts Motor parts except electric Stationery and marine engines Stationery and marine engines, parts All other engine and parts

Construction and conveying machinery

Concrete mixers and parts Hoisting machine Road making machinery Road making machinery, parts

All other machinery

Air compressors Coffee and corn mills Fiber stripping machine Fiber stripping machine, parts Logging equipment Metal grinders Metal working machinery and parts Mining machinery and parts Oil extracting machine and parts Pumps and pumping machinery and parts Refrigerating machinery and parts Saw mill machinery and parts Sewing machines Sewing machines parts Sugar mill and parts Woodworking machinery and parts All other machinery, machine and parts except the lawn mowers. ice cream freezers, and laundry machines.

Agricultural Machinery and Implements

Irrigation and other pumps

Plows, cultivators, harrows and parts Reapers and mowers Rice Hullers and Cleaners Rice Hullers and Cleaners parts Rice Threshers Rice Threshers parts All other agricultural machinery, implements and parts

Non-ferrous metals, except precious

Aluminum and Manufactures of Foil

Sheets, corrugated

Sheets, plain

Antimony Brass and bronze

Bars and rods Locks, hinges and bolts

Machinery and parts Tacks, srews, nuts, bolts, washers and rivets Other builders' hardware Pipes and fittings Sheets Wire

Copper and manufactures

Bars, ingots, slabs and pigs Tacks, srews, nuts, bolts, washers and rivets Pipes and fittings Sheets (Montz metal) Wire (bars) Wire , insulated

Lead

Pigs, bars and sheets Bottle caps

Solder and babbit metal

Type and type metal

Mercury (quicksilver) Nickel Tin

Ingots Tinfoil

Zinc

Pigs, bars and sheets Dusts Miscellaneous metal manufactures

Bottle, caps, tinplate Cans, empty tinplate Cylinders, empty Ferro, alloys Ferrochrome Ferrosilicon

Electrical Machinery and appliances

Armatures and commutators Batteries and flashlights Batteries, dry cell Batteries, storage or wet Condensing units Dynamos, generators and turbines Electrical Tools Incubators and brooders Magnets Motor and pumps Motors parts Transformers Welding equipment

Vehicles and Parts

Trucks Automobiles valued not more than P3,800 Parts and accessories Cars, railway, and trams and parts Locomotives Locomotive parts Tractors, wheel type Tractor, crawler type Tractor, parts Parts of equipment and repairs for vessels Wagons, trailers and carts Wheelbarrows, pushcarts and hand trucks Axles, wheels and springs for carts All other vehicles and parts

Chemicals, Drugs, Dyes, Medicines and Medical Equipment and Supplies

Acids Acetic Boric Carbolic Citric Muriatic (Hydrocloric) Nitric Oxalic Sulphuric Tartaric All other acids Other chemicals

Anti-biotics, household remedies, proprietary medicine, etc.

Alum (Sudium aluminum, sulphate) Ammonia, anhydros Ammonia, aqua Ammonia, carbonate and bicarbonate Baking powder Calcium carbide Cementing preparation other than rubber Cream of tartar Cyanide (potassium and sodium) Dextrin Disinfectant deodorants Flavoring extracts (ajinomoto, vetsen, etc.) Formaldehyde or formalin Glycerine Insecticides Iodoform Lime chloride (bleaching powder) Magnesium carbonate and bicarbonate Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt) Metal polishes Oxygen gas Potash, caustic Potash, chlorate and perchlorate Potasium bicarbonate and chromate Potassium bromide Saccharine Silver nitrate Sodium bicarbonate Sodium carbonate Sodium silicate Sodium sulphate (Gloubers salt) All other chemicals

Dental equipment, dental products and dental gold

Chemical, Drugs, etc.

Medical and Pharmaceutical preparations

Dyes

Indigo Aneline Other dyes

Dyeing materials

Cutch Other dyeing materials

Fertilizers and Fertilizing Materials

Animal and Vegetable Fertilizer

Nitrate of potash Phosphate of ammonia Sulphate of potash Superphosphate Mixed fertilizers Other chemical fertilizers

Explosives

Blasting caps Cartridge Dynamite Fuses Gunpowder

Paints, Pigments and Vegetables

Lead, Red Lead, White Litharge Lithopane Other, Iron oxide and other mineral earth pigments Ultramarine blue Varnish Zinc oxide Linseed oil Turpentine

Miscellaneous

Drawing instruments Microscopes Surveying and engineering instruments Othe scientific and laboratory instruments Fine tools Films

Unexposed

Sensitized paper, including photographic and photostatic paper materials for map and plan printing only Fish hooks Fishing rods and tackles

Time clocks Parts of clocks and watches

Brushes

Paint

Blacking and leather dressing Celluloid and manufactures

Sheets and strips

Cellophane and manufactures

Sheets and strips

Ink, and Ink powder

Printers Ink

Muscilage and paste Plastic materials other than Pyroxyline products

Beltings Sheets and Sheeting Soling and Heelings Athletic goods not produced locally including .22 caliber target firearms and ammunition

Jute and Hessian Bags