THE PHILIPPINES. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) may get a sharp boost in their inbound and post-arrivals duty free allowance following outgoing President Benigno Aquino III’s signing of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
Among other changes the act increases the tax-exempt value of balikbayan boxes sent by OFWs to their families from P10,000 (US$215) to P150,000 (US$3,220), three times a year. It also raises the de minimis (threshold) value of tax and duty free goods from P10 to P10,000. The de minimis value refers to the value and minimum cost required for items to undergo formal entry via Customs.
Travellers will be able to bring in personal valuables worth a minimum of P350,000 (up from P150,000).
State-owned Duty Free Philippines is monitoring the changes closely to evaluate the impact on allowances for returning workers who have extended shopping privileges,
OFWs can shop for 15 days post their arrival in the Philippines, a right extended to 30 days during the Christmas period. The value allowance is currently US$2,500 with specific limits on liquor and tobacco.
Chief Operating Officer Lorenzo ‘Enchong’ Formoso told The Moodie Davitt Report: “This… can be the basis for an increase in the allowance in terms of the OFW duty free privileges.”
Any such changes, he said, must await the swearing in of the new administration and Congress. With President Aquino III standing down at this month’s election, power has fallen to the outspoken right-wing candidate Rodrigo Duterte.
