MANILA -- The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commodity Classification Project Team, together with the Department of Finance (DOF) and Tariff Commission (TC), successfully completed the identification of commodity codes and tariff nomenclature for sixteen (16) Trade Regulatory Government Agencies (TRGAs) on 16 July 2021. These codes conform to the international coding system set by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and ASEAN.

To achieve this, three (3) Workshops were conducted to educate the TRGAs about the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN), its explanatory notes, and amendments. The Tariff Commission provided a lecture on the Tariff Classification Procedures, the General Rules on the Interpretation of the Harmonized System, and how to apply the AHTN Codes based on the different classes of products being regulated by each TRGA. Breakout sessions were also conducted in order to establish clear rules, uniformity, and transparency of application in the classification of goods using the AHTN.

The BOC Commodity Classification Project Team, composed of licensed customs brokers and commodity experts from the BOC Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG) - Imports Assessment Service (IAS), was created under Customs Special Order No. 41-2021 by Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero to ensure that AHTN is used for the efficient administration and expeditious clearance of goods to facilitate trade and to expedite the onboarding of TRGAs to the National Single Window (NSW) System. (BOC)