Title
DTI Rules on Import Commodity Clearance
Law
Dti Administrative Order No. 05, December 04, 2001
Decision Date
Dec 4, 2001
The DTI Administrative Order No. 05 establishes comprehensive rules for the issuance of Import Commodity Clearances, ensuring that imported products comply with Philippine National Standards through rigorous testing and certification processes.
import commodity
clearance
administrative order

Legal basis and predecessor rules

  • This Order is issued pursuant to Republic Act No. 4109, Republic Act No. 7394, and Executive Order No. 913 (Series of 1993).
  • The Order expressly provides that violations are subject to administrative actions under E.O. No. 913 (Series of 1983), without prejudice to criminal or civil actions under R.A. No. 4109 and/or R.A. No. 7394.
  • DAO No. 8 (Series of 1995) and all other orders or parts inconsistent with this Administrative Order are repealed or amended accordingly.

Policy, purpose, and core regulatory aim

  • The Order establishes a regulatory system for issuing Import Commodity Clearance to attest that imported products conform to a Philippine National Standard or a BPS-recognized international/foreign standard.
  • The system is designed to control release and disposition of imported goods subject to mandatory standards through DTI’s standards conformity processes.
  • The regulatory scheme uses inspection, sampling, testing, evaluation, and product traceability to determine compliance before issuance of an ICC.

Definitions used for ICC processing

  • “BPS” means the Bureau of Product Standards.
  • “Certifying/Testing Organization” means an impartial body, governmental or non-governmental, possessing the necessary competence and reliability to test and certify products for conformity to standards.
  • “Test Certificate/Report” means a document issued by a third-party certifying/testing organization to a particular import shipment/commodity attesting that sampling and testing were done in accordance with a specific Philippine National Standard or a BPS-recognized international/foreign standard.
  • “DTI” means the Department of Trade and Industry.
  • “Evaluation” means the actual inspection, sampling, and testing of product.
  • “International/Foreign Standard” means a standard developed by international bodies such as ISO, IEC, ITU, or by a national standards body of a foreign country.
  • “Import Commodity Clearance” means a document issued by DTI attesting that quality of an imported product conforms to a Philippine National Standard or a BPS-recognized international/foreign standard.
  • “National Standards Body” means a nationally-recognized body whose national-level principal function, by charter or national statutes, is the development, promulgation, publication, promotion, and implementation of national standards.
  • “Philippine National Standards” mean standards issued or developed by BPS through BPS Technical Committees.
  • “Conditional Release” means a document issued to an importer allowing temporary release of goods from Customs custody, upon compliance with Customs requirements, while the application for ICC is being processed.

Who must apply and where to file

  • Importers of products covered by mandatory Philippine National Standards must apply for Import Commodity Clearance.
  • Applicants must file with the nearest DTI Regional/Provincial Office.
  • Application must be made immediately upon arrival of the import shipments and after approval of the import entry by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
  • The application must be filed in triplicate and must be made using forms obtainable from the nearest DTI Regional/Provincial Offices.

Required ICC application documents

  • The application must include:
    • Packing List.
    • Certified True Copy of Import Entry.
    • Commercial Invoice.
    • Bill of Lading/Airway Bill.
    • Certified True Copy of Customs Examiner’s Findings.
    • DTI Business Registration Certificate/SEC Registration Certificate.
    • Summary of Batch Numbers/Serial Numbers of the product(s) covered by the mandatory standard.
    • Power of Attorney (when the ICC application is filed by persons with managerial/supervisory capability connected with the company authorizing them to process the ICC application).
    • Board Resolution (when the ICC application is filed by persons with managerial or supervisory capability connected with the corporation authorizing them to process the ICC application).
    • Where applicable, the original copy of the test reports from the Accredited Testing Laboratory of the country of origin to be sent directly to the DTI Regional/Provincial Offices where the application is filed.

Processing options and when each applies

  • ICC applications must be processed through three (3) options:
    • Import shipment without Test Certificate/Report.
    • Import shipment with Test Certificate/Report.
    • Import shipment with Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.
  • To use the option for shipments with Test Certificate/Report and/or shipments with the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and/or Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) must first be entered into by BPS and the counterpart National Standards Body (NSB) of the exporting country.

Option 1: Import without test certificate

  • A shipment with no test certificate may be subject to a Conditional Release from Customs custody issued by the DTI Regional/Provincial Office, provided the importer complies with Customs requirements and other DTI requirements.
  • While awaiting ICC issuance under Conditional Release, the importer or any person must not distribute, sell, use, and/or transfer any portion of the goods to any place other than the address specified in the Conditional Release.
  • To prevent unauthorized distribution, the importer must allow authorized DTI personnel to conduct inspection/inventory of the import shipment during official working hours.
  • Authorized DTI Regional/Provincial Officer(s) must inspect and sample the shipment; samples drawn for testing must be properly sealed and signed by the authorized officers in a manner that preserves sample integrity.
  • Samples must be sent to the BPS Testing Center for proper coding and testing.
  • Duly authorized DTI personnel must evaluate results to determine compliance with the requirements of a specific Philippine National Standard.
  • When the shipment complies, the Import Commodity Clearance must be issued by the concerned DTI Regional/Provincial Director for a specific product on a per shipment per Bill of Lading/Airway Bill basis.
  • If test results show noncompliance, a re-test must be conducted, and ICC can be issued only if re-test results show conformance.

Option 2: Import with test certificate/report

  • ICC issuance may proceed for import shipments accompanied by original test certificates issued by BPS recognized testing laboratories, based on relevant Philippine National Standards.
  • When necessary, shipments tested/certified abroad as meeting Philippine National Standards may be randomly resampled and tested by DTI Regional/Provincial Offices for confirmation.
  • If random checks reveal inconsistencies between the actual product quality and the origin test certificates, all subsequent import shipments of such products from that country must undergo per shipment sampling and testing by DTI Regional/Provincial Offices regardless of the importer.
  • Per shipment sampling/testing must continue until consistency of import shipment quality with origin test certificates is re-established to DTI’s satisfaction.
  • Upon compliance with the applicable Philippine National Standard and other applicable DTI rules and regulations, ICC must be issued by the concerned DTI Regional/Provincial Director for a specific product on a per shipment per Bill of Lading/Airway Bill basis.

Option 3: PS quality/safety certification mark

  • Importers of products manufactured by foreign companies that hold a license to use the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality or Safety Certification Mark under DTI Administrative Order No. 1:1997 and its amendments/revisions must be issued a Certificate of Exemption.

Product identification, traceability, and labeling

  • Importers must submit product identification and traceability of the lot/batch being imported.
  • Submitted lot/batch identification and traceability serve as the basis for issuance of the ICC.
  • Importers must ensure imported products are properly labeled with the product identification and traceability of the production lot/batch.

Denial and prohibited disposition in market

  • Import shipments that do not comply with the requirements of the specific Philippine National Standards and/or other DTI rules and regulations must not be issued an ICC.
  • All import shipments denied the required ICC must not be disposed of in the domestic market in any manner.
  • Denied shipments must be properly disposed of in accordance with the Tariff and Customs Code and other pertinent rules and regulations.

Import Commodity Clearance mark rules

  • The Import Commodity Clearance Mark design must follow the illustration in Annex 1.
  • The Import Commodity Clearance Mark must be affixed on the product covered by the ICC issued by the DTI Regional/Provincial Office.
  • The Import Commodity Clearance Mark must not be used on any product in a misleading manner.

Fees, charges, and expenses

  • The application fee for the ICC application form is Three Hundred Pesos (P300.00).
  • When necessary, the importer applicant must bear transportation, board and lodging costs of inspectors during inspection.
  • All testing expenses/fees charged by DTI or DTI-designed laboratories for testing samples—including freight and handling of samples—must be borne by the applicant/importer and are payable upon submission of samples.
  • A processing fee is non-refundable and is payable upon filing the application on a per product per Bill of Lading/Airway Bill basis, assessed by BPS based on the amount declared in the invoice:
    • Up to PHP 500,000.00: PHP 5,000.00
    • Over PHP 500,000 up to PHP 1 Million: PHP 7,500.00
    • Over PHP 1 Million: PHP 10,000.00
  • Fees and charges may be changed upon notice as may be necessary.
  • The company/importer must answer for accidents that occur during the entire duration of inspection if fault or negligence of the importer is proven to have contributed.

Special cases and separate guidelines

  • When there is a lack of needed supply, constraints on locally available testing equipment, and long testing periods for certain products, BPS may issue separate guidelines for implementing ICC procedures for the concerned products.

Sample disposition after monitoring/testing

  • Remaining samples drawn from a shipment for monitoring/testing purposes that conform to the standard must be returned to the importer under DTI Administrative Order No. 5, series of 1996 or its future amendments/revisions.
  • If the importer fails to claim the samples after the stated due date in the notice to claim, DTI must dispose of the samples in any manner it may deem appropriate under existing accounting and auditing rules.

Administrative penalties and related liabilities

  • Any violation of the Order is subject to administrative actions under Executive Order No. 913, Series of 1983, without prejudice to criminal or civil actions under Republic Act No. 4109 and/or Republic Act No. 7394.

Separability and repealing clause

  • If any provision or article of the Order, or its application to any person or group or circumstance, is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the Order remains unaffected.
  • DAO No. 8, Series of 1995 and all inconsistent orders or parts are repealed or amended accordingly.

Analyze Cases Smarter, Faster
Jur helps you analyze cases smarter to comprehend faster, building context before diving into full texts. AI-powered analysis, always verify critical details.

About Privacy Terms