THE Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo (E-Tracc) System has widened its coverage to include barge or domestic vessel transfer of international containerized goods, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PhilExport) said, citing an order from the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

The BoC on August 12 issued Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 09-2024 to implement Customs Administrative Order (CAO) 15-2019, which regulates the movement of foreign goods within Customs territory for exportation, warehousing, and admission to Free Zones.CMO 09-2024 also supplements CMO 4-2020 on establishing an E-Tracc System and accrediting a service provider, as amended by CMO 15-2023. The order covers both inland and sea transfers of containerized goods using the E-Tracc system.

"Taking immediate effect, CMO 09-2024 integrates the procedure for the transit of containerized shipments via barge or other domestic vessels with regular inland transfer," PhilExport said.

For barge transit bookings under Section 3, the importer must use the E-Tracc system to book a trip, providing details such as barge info, container number, discharge port, destination facility, stowage plan, and payment information. The order specifies that only one booking is allowed for all containers loaded on the barge or the domestic vessel.

After loading, the importer must submit the Actual Load List to the E-Tracc system. The system will then mark the containers as "Loaded," after which Customs officials and E-Tracc personnel will prepare the E-Tracc device for the barge.

Importers are also mandated to send the Final Load List to the E-Tracc System to start the transfer of the containers via barge or domestic vessel. Once the barge arrives at the destination terminal, the status of the barge transfer in the E-Tracc System will be reflected as "End Trip" and be tagged as "Arrived" and "Received" in the system.

The order also specified the importer must send the Discharge List to the E-Tracc System once the containers are fully discharged. An authorized customs officer from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority Cavite Customs Office will then "disarm" the E-Tracc device for the barge.For inland transit, E-Tracc booking for transferring containers from the terminal to their free zone destination can begin after the barge transit booking is done.

"Booking procedure under CMO No. 04-2020 shall remain effective," the order said. It also noted that import containers will remain at the terminal facility yard until these are booked by its importer. "Only booked containers will be sealed with an Electronic Customs Seal and allowed to commence transit to their Special Economic Zone destination."

For export containers, E-Tracc booking for transferring containers from the Free Zone to the terminal for barge transfer follows COM 04-2020. At the terminal, an authorized customs officer and E-Tracc personnel will disarm the Electronic Customs Seal, according to CMO15-2023.The importer must then book a barge for loading the containers. After loading, authorized personnel will arm the E-Tracc device for the barge. Upon arrival at the destination port, Customs and E-Tracc personnel will disarm the electronic seal.

The E-Tracc System, launched through the issuance of CMO 04-2020, enables the real-time monitoring of inland movements of containerized goods using an information and communications technology-enabled system, such as the GPS-enabled tracking device, to secure its transport to the intended destination. The system has a state-of-the-art alarm feature that can detect diversion and tampering.