BOC seizes misdeclared shipment of electronic waste from South Korea

Customs personnel of the Manila International Container Port, together with the Environmental officials, inspected and seized a 40-footer container of misdeclared assorted electronic waste last Thursday.

In an emailed statement on Saturday, the Bureau of Customs said the shipment from South Korea, and consigned to Vision Restore and Equipment Corporation arrived at the MICP on November 6, 2019.

Bureau of Customs seizes a container of electronic waste from South Korea at MICP. BOC PHOTO

Based on the BOC report, the consignee declared the shipment as used TV parts and electric parts but after examination, it was found to contain electronic waste.

According to the BOC, MICP District Collector Guillermo Pedro Francia IV issued on November 15, 2019 Alert Order No. A/MICP/20191115-0247 against the subject container and recommended to the Accounts Management Office (AMO) the revocation of the accreditation of the importer and the customs broker.

The BOC will issue an order of re-exportation directing the consignee to return the shipment to its port of origin pursuant to Customs Memorandum Order No. 38-2019 in relation to the provisions of Section 14 of Republic Act No. 6969 and Article 8 of the Basel Convention on the Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, to which both the Philippines and South Korea are signatories.

Likewise, the BOC will conduct an investigation to identify the personalities involved in the importation of electronic waste and for filing of appropriate charges. —LBG, GMA News