The country’s two biggest revenue agencies are stepping up efforts to make exporting faster and less costly, with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) rolling out reforms aimed at cutting red tape, expanding digital services and improving the ease of doing business.
Speaking before members of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PHILEXPORT), Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno and BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza outlined parallel initiatives designed to simplify compliance and strengthen the country’s export competitiveness.
For exporters, the biggest change could come from Customs’ accelerated digital transformation.
Nepomuceno said the BOC is rolling out its artificial intelligence-enabled Customs Processing System (CPS), which will replace the decades-old Electronic-to-Mobile (E2M) platform. The new system is expected to automate end-to-end customs processing, reduce human intervention, eliminate unnecessary manual overrides and allow exporters to complete transactions through a fully digital, paperless platform.
The agency is also extending exporters’ accreditation validity from one year to three years, reducing repetitive paperwork while strengthening regular dialogue with industry groups to address operational bottlenecks more quickly.
At the BIR, Mendoza said the agency’s DARES reform agenda is focused on making tax administration simpler, more predictable and more taxpayer-friendly.
Recent initiatives include simplified electronic tax forms, the launch of the Taxpayer Portal, integration with the National Single Window for electronic import clearances and streamlined procedures for business closure and tax settlement, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises.
The coordinated reforms reflect the government’s broader push to modernize trade facilitation as exporters navigate rising global competition and increasingly complex supply chains.
By aligning customs and tax reforms, the two agencies aim to reduce compliance costs, shorten processing times and improve regulatory certainty, key factors that business groups have long identified as essential to attracting investment, expanding exports and strengthening the Philippines’ position in regional and global trade.
