New e-CP system eyes to address illegal car import woes

MANILA: The new Electronic Certificate of Payment (e-CP) system is expected to address the looming issue of improperly-imported vehicles.

During the  recent Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) Summit, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Acting Director for Planning and Systems Development Service Management Information Systems and Technology Group Atty. Liza Sebastian said that the updated e-CP can provide legitimate car importers and dealers with an expedient, transparent, and secure process for bringing their automotive products into the country.

More importantly, it aims to curb “illicit importation of luxury vehicles and improve data integrity through direct, real-time sharing of data between the BOC and the Land Transportation Office (LTO).”

Notably, the new e-CP is a multi-phase process that employs fully automated validation of payment records, document checks, and, finally, transmission to the LTO via the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS). 

To do this, the new e-CP system uses a database that contains consignee details, vehicle registration information, and corresponding part numbers. 

However, Sebastian said during her presentation that there are hurdles that the system must overcome before it can be made available for use. 

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New BOC e-CP: challenges

She noted that the customs bureau still has to address technical issues related to the LTO’s IT systems in order to fully introduce the new e-CP. 

Furthermore, the BOC said that the new e-CP system has yet to push through as the LTO has not yet officially determined whether the LTMS or the Stradcom system will be used. 

“As far as the readiness of the system of the BOC is concerned, we are ready. It is just a matter of [receiving> advice from the LTO on when they will be ready,” Sebastian said.

Recently, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the LTO to cease the usage of Stradcom Corporation's system in favor of LTMS. 

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