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GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES IN THE
SHIPMENT
OF DONATIONS TO THE PHILIPPINES
(Foreign Service Circular No. 61-00)
Donated goods that may be allowed duty-free entry are food, medicines and
other relief goods; books and educational materials; essential machineries/equipment;
consumer goods and other articles subject to certain conditions. Used clothes are
considered regulated/restricted items and can only be received by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) and welfare organizations accredited by the DSWD.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROCESSING OF DONATIONS WITH DUTY-FREE PRIVILEGE
The documents required from the donor prior to the issuance of duty-free certification by
the government agencies concerned are the following:
A. Deed of Donation, duly authenticated by the Philippine Consulate
General;
B. Commercial Invoice and/or packing list/inventory of donated items;
and
C. Shipping documents (bill of lading/airway bill).
PROCEDURES TO FACILITATE THE ENTRY, PROCESSING AND RELEASE OF FOREIGN DONATIONS
A. Prior to Shipment
- Prospective donors who intend to ship goods/articles/equipment must inform the Consulate
General of their intention to donate. The donor will have to provide the Consulate with a
complete list of items to be donated, name of consignee, his complete address, and
telephone number, and the contact person in the Philippines
- The Philippine Embassy/Consulate will refer the prospective donation to the Commission
on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). Upon receipt of the notice of intent to donate, the CFO will
coordinate with government agencies concerned and the designated consignee to determine if
the intended donation is eligible for duty-free entry and if the designated consignee is
qualified to accept the donation free from duties. The CFO will inform the Philippine
Embassy/Consulate General about the requirements and obligations in connection with the
intended donation; and
- The Philippine Embassy will advise the donor on feedback from Manila, including the
requirements for duty-free entry. The Philippine Consulate General authenticates the Deed
of Donation prior to its shipment in Manila.
B. Shipment of Donations
- To allow sufficient time for the processing of the donation, the donor must send advance
copies of the following documents to the designated consignee at least thirty (30) days
prior to the actual shipment of the goods to the Philippines;
- Deed of Donation, duly authenticated by the Philippine Consulate General; and
- Commercial invoice and/or packing list/inventory of donated items.
- The Donor must ensure that the name of the consignee is identical in both Deed of
Donation and the shipping documents, i.e. Bill of Lading or the Airway Bill. The donor
must also determine that the shipment contains only the items in the packing list. The
donor may also send advance copies of the aforementioned documents to the CFO through the
Philippine Consulate General for purpose of coordination.
- Upon receipt of the advance copies of required documents from the donor, the recipient
will be advised to coordinate with appropriate agencies and submit required documents; and
- The recipient must monitor the arrival of the shipment by coordinating with the shipping
agency. The shipping agency will usually send an arrival notice to the consignee.
C. Processing of Donations
- Upon receipt of the request of the consignee for the duty-free importation, the
appropriate agency (Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education,
Culture and Sports, or the National Economic Development Administration) will recommend to
the Department of Finance (DOF) that the importation be exempted from customs duties, if
deemed meritorious. These agencies can also recommend denial of the request for exemption
from payment of duties;
- Upon endorsement by the appropriate agency for the duty-free entry of the donation, the
DOF will issue a clearance and will forward this document to the Tax Exemption Division,
Bureau of Custom (BOC). The consignee may obtain a duplicate copy of the DOF clearance
from DOF;
- The Tax Exempt Division of the BOC will endorse the release of donation and will forward
this document to the Informal Entry Division (IED) of the BOC District Office concerned
(i.e. South Harbor, Manila International Container Port, Ninoy Aquino International
Airport, etc.). The IED checks, verifies, appraises, and examines the donated shipment;
The original copies of the Deed of Donation, commercial invoice and/or packing list, and
the Bill of Lading or the Airway Bill must be received by the consignee on or before the
arrival of the shipment in the Philippines to effect its release; and
- After the consignee complies with all the documentation and pays the and charges (i.e.
arrastre, wharfage, value-added tax, etc.), the BOC will release the shipment to the
consignee.
NOTE:
All donations, regardless of its type or classification, follow the general procedures
instituted in facilitating its entry, processing, and release, and should satisfy as well
the general requirements in availing of duty-free privileges. Depending of the type of
donations and/or the identified beneficiaries, however, concerned Departments/agencies in
the Philippines, i.e. DSWD, Department of Health, Department of Finance, National Economic
and Development Authority, and the Bureau of Food and Drugs, may prescribe additional
requirements and procedures in the processing of foreign donations.
For assistance, questions and/or additional information, prospective donors may contact
the CFO at the following address, telephone/fax numbers and e-mail address:
Commission on Filipinos Overseas
1345 Citigold Center
Quirino Avenue cor. South Superhighway
Manila, Philippines
Tel # 011.632.562.3852
Fax # 011.632.561.8332
E-mail <cfodfa@info.com.ph
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