Philippines customs strengthens GHS compliance enforcement

On April 12, 2021, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of Philippines promulgated “Customs Memorandum Circular No. 78-2021: Implementation of the Globally Harmonized System pursuant to DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2015-09”. This circular is addressed to the Deputy Directors and General Managers of BOC, as well as customs officers in each region, and aims to ensure the implementation of DENR AO NO. 2015-09 in the country, which mandates the implementation of GHS.

Prior to this, on February 8, 2021, William P. Cunado, Director General of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) under Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), wrote an official letter to BOC, stating that the various regulated chemicals under the jurisdiction of the EMB, including substances covered by the Chemical Control Order (CCO), Priority Chemicals (PCL), High Volume Chemicals (HVC), and chemicals listed in the IATA and IMDG lists, are subject to the GHS in the Philippines. The letter also mentions that the implementation of GHS for mixtures is also scheduled to be implemented in the first semester of 2021.

In response to this request from the Director General of EMB, BOC has informed its senior officers of the strict implementation of GHS rules for all chemical imports under DAO No. 2015-09. This requires that SDS and labeling requirements be adhered to prior to transportation from customs storage to the outside.

The original text of this circular can be downloaded from the following link.
https://customs.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cmc-78-2021-Implementation_of_the_Globally_Harmonized_System_per_DENR_AO-No_2015-09.pdf