Senator Juan Edgardo Angara has asked the Department of Finance (DOF) to “immediately” intervene as he and the Bureau of Customs clashed over the correct interpretation of the Balikbayan Box law.
The senator made the request as he stood by his stand that Customs Administrative Order No. 5-2016, which only allows duty and tax-free Balikbayan boxes per sender in any given calendar year provided they do not exceed P150,000, was a misinterpretation of the Balikbayan box law.
According to Angara, the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) aims to allow Overseas Filipino Workers to send up to three P150,000-worth of tax and duty-free balikbayan boxes that do not exceed P450,000 in a year, contrary to the Customs administrative order.
He added that the law was made to recognize the significant contributions of millions of OFWs to the country’s economy, and to give them appropriate tax benefits.
