Household Goods Logistics

Philippines Customs Information – Hhglogistics

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

• Original passport showing last departure and arrival date
• Residence permit
• Residence visa
• Work permit
• Inventory written in English
  • State each item as “used”
  • Duplicate appliances taxable
• Letter of request for exemption, requires the following (for certain visas only):
  • Letter of guarantee
  • Customs bond
  • Bank guarantee
• Depending on your immigration status, other documents may be required

CUSTOMS REGULATIONS

• YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUIRED FOR CUSTOMS CLEARANCE
• Shipment should NOT arrive before visa is approved
• Shipment required to arrive within 60 days before or after your arrival
• All shipments subject to 100% inspection
• All imported household goods and personal effect required to have been in your possession for a minimum of 6 months prior to shipment
• Temporary visitors allowed to import household goods, personal effects and vehicles if they file a re-export bond for 6 months or pay the levied customs taxes/duties
• Immigrants/permanent residence are allowed 1 tax and duty-free import of used household goods and personal effects by air or sea
• Non-residents/retiree (first time settling) may import used household goods and personal effects duty and tax free if they do not exceed the value of $7,800 U.S.

RESTRICTED ITEMS/DUTIABLE

• Plants, fish and animals
• Video tapes, films and disks
• Medicines
• Telecommunication equipment
• Color reproduction machine
• Motor vehicle parts

PROHIBITED ITEMS

• Ammunition and firearms
• Realistic toy guns
• Opium, opium smoking paraphernalia and narcotics
• Drugs used for the purpose of abortion
• Pornography
• Adulterated and misbranded drugs
• Altered, counterfeit or imitated coins, paper money, banknotes and securities
• Gambling machines and articles
• Sliver/gold and precious metal bullion
• Foodstuffs, used clothing and rags in commercial quantities

MOTOR VEHICLES

• Import of privately owned vehicles to Philippines highly restricted. This is a long process and requires a great amount of paperwork and a special import permit. Permit available only in Philippines and cannot be issued by an embassy or consulate office.
• YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUIRED FOR CUSTOMS CLEARANCE IN ORDER TO IMPORT VEHICLE
• Foreign embassy diplomats and returning Filipino residents allow to import vehicles duty-free
• All incoming vehicles require an import authority permit issued by the Philippine Bureau of Import Service prior to shipment
• Owner required to have lived abroad for a minimum of 1 year, and vehicle must have been registered in his/her name for at least 6 months if vehicle more than 3 years old.
  • Vehicles more than 3 years old are to be registered under customer’s name for at least 1 year before application for import permit
• Failure to comply with the above requirements will result in penalties and confiscation of vehicle
• Vehicles required to arrive within 60 days of your arrival
• Contact destination agent before shipping any vehicles
• All vehicles subject to duties and taxes
• Gasoline fueled vehicles restricted to 2,800 cc and not exceeding 1,500 kgs
• The import of right hand driven vehicles not permitted
• Only allowed to import 1 vehicle per family
• Vehicles 5 years or older are not permitted
• Any unauthorized or banned vehicles are subject to seizure and owner subject to penalties
• The following documents are required:
  • Original proof of ownership and original registration
  • Import permit from Department of Trade or Bureau of Import
  • Original bill of sale
  • Surety bond
  • Original passport
  • Certificate of arrival
  • Stencils of chassis and engine number
  • Deed of sale of commercial invoice
  • Depending on your immigration status, other documents may be required

PETS

• Cats, dogs and birds are not restricted for entry
• “Exotic pets” may have restriction for import
• Game fowl and race horses are subject to duties and taxes
• The following documents are required for import of pets:
  • Owners passport
  • Import permit obtained from the Bureau of Animal Industry
  • Pet identification card
  • Pedigree certificate
  • Original health certificate and vaccination from country of origin – must have been issued within 10 days of import and show proof that vaccination was administered between 60 to 180 days prior to import)
  • No quarantine period required

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Those whose intended visas are not approved yet by the Commission on Immigration and Deportation may request a temporary tax and duty-free release of their cargo. You may do this by going to the Department of Finance and providing a cash bond and a Letter of Request for the change of visa status that was already submitted to the Commission on Immigration and Deportation.

This cash bond may be acquired through the payment of a premium that would be based on 150% of the appraised value assessed by the Bureau of Customs. This is only valid for a period of 90 days starting from the date of filing for the customs permit with the Bureau of Customs; can only be extended for another 90 days.

If the cash bond remains unconcealed after the given period, penalties will be established by the Bureau of Customs against the consignee for the forfeiture of the cash bond.

**NOTE- all customs regulations and procedures are subject to change at any time. The above customs information is provided as a brief summary of Philippines customs regulations and applies only to household goods shipments, and is for your general guidance. HHGlogistics is not liable for any damage, delays, duties, costs, taxes or other detrimental events resulting from non-compliance, omissions or errors. Always check full requirements and restrictions with the local embassy or consulate.**