The Association of International Shipping Lines (AISL) said container deposit is a standard and internationally-recognized practice in the supply chain industry contrary to claims by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) only the Philippines requires container deposit.
Patrick Ronas, AISL president Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka are among the countries that require container deposit.
Ronas said while the PPA Board has deferred indefinitely the implementation of the Trusted Operator Program — Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS), PPA management continues to justify the TOP-CRMS vehemently.
Ronas said the P980 per container that importers will pay because of the TOP-CRMS is fixed and not refundable. In contrast, the container deposit that importers pay to the shipping lines is refundable and negotiable upon return of the container to the depot.
“We will continue to oppose the TOP-CRMS for being excessive, anti-business, and duplicative of the functions of the Bureau of Customs, among other things,” Ronas said, adding the program will only add another layer to the process which has since been digitized.
He said the regulation of container deposit is now being discussed in the House of Representatives and that the PPA cannot address issues related to the container deposit because it is not the regulator of international shipping lines.
On top of the P980 per container, Ronas said shipping lines will also have to pay P3,520 to the PPA and its service provider, which is also fixed and non-refundable, for using the PPA staging facility.
