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The long time dream of most importers getting their goods at the shortest possible time is about to become a reality, in fact, it will only take them 30 minutes flat! That is what Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Napoleon L. Morales promised.

Morales is confident of this because they have already tested the system at the Batangas port in the later part of March. Soon, all other ports in the country, including the largest, will have the internet-based shipment release system implemented. This system will allow the importers to receive their goods within 30 minutes.

The new internet-based system called Imports and Assessment System (IAS) will soon be implemented in the Manila International Container Port (MICP), the Port of Manila, and the Port of Limay in Bataan. This enhancement project is but part of the many major project supported by the e-Governance funds of the Office of the President.

The IAS is intended to harmonize, rationalize, and streamline imports and exports processing, aside from enhancing trade facilitation between the agency and its stakeholder. Procedures for transactions were indicated under the electronic-to-mobile system, as covered in the recently-issued Customs Memorandum Order 10-2009.

To ensure the successful implementation of the new system, it was first implemented at the Batangas port. The test run resulted in six import entries were validated from March 21 to March 31.

“We have long envisioned great comfort for our clients when they make transactions with us, and to make sure we make new system processes run smoothly for them, we are piloting Imports and Assessment System in Batangas, where high costs but low volumes of import trade are traditionally documented, before we implement them nationwide,” said Morales.

With the new, and hopefully more efficient system, it is likewise expected that red tape would be lessen and importers will get their items from the agency without being given a hard time.