Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 453)
Section 402 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended (Presidential Decree No. 1464), empowers the President to increase, reduce, or remove existing protective rates of import duty and modify the form of duty upon recommendation by the National Economic and Development Authority.
The CEPT scheme is an ASEAN agreement that provides for the schedule of tariff reductions among ASEAN member countries to promote trade integration by granting preferential tariff rates on imports within ASEAN.
Articles specifically listed in Annex aAa (Articles Granted Concessions under the CEPT-AFTA), as classified under Section 104 of the Tariff and Customs Code, shall be subject to the ASEAN CEPT tariff according to the 1997-2003 schedule.
The articles in Annex aBa shall be subject to the ASEAN rate in accordance with the 1997 schedule indicated, but implementation of the preferential tariff schedule for succeeding years requires separate implementing executive orders.
If changes in the basic MFN Philippine rate of duty are made to rates prescribed in the executive order schedules, the articles will automatically be accorded the corresponding reduced rate of duty.
No, MOPs under ASEAN PTAs shall no longer be extended to any products under Annexes aAa and aBa as per Section 4.
The modified tariff schedule takes effect immediately upon the issuance of the Executive Order on October 31, 1997.
Articles must qualify under the Rules of Origin as provided in the Agreement on the CEPT Scheme for the AFTA signed on January 28, 1992, to be subject to the preferential duty rates.
All presidential issuances, administrative rules, and regulations or parts thereof that are contrary or inconsistent with this Executive Order are repealed or modified accordingly as stated in Section 6.