Modifying the Nomenclature and Rates of Duty on Certain Imported Articles as Provided for Under the Tariff and Customs Code

June 26, 2015

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 185

MODIFYING THE NOMENCLATURE AND RATES OF DUTY ON CERTAIN IMPORTED ARTICLES AS PROVIDED FOR UNDER THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS AMENDED, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE PHILIPPINE TARIFF COMMITMENTS ON CERTAIN PRODUCTS INCLUDED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS LIST UNDER THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION

WHEREAS, under the 2007 Sydney and 2011 Honolulu Declarations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders made a commitment to address issues on climate change, review the progress of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Development Agenda negotiations on the liberalization of trade in environmental goods and services, and take concrete steps to achieve past ambitions and make green growth a reality, consistent with their WTO obligations;

WHEREAS, in its 2009 Annual Report, the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment endorsed the APEC Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) Work Program to help in reaching an agreement on actions to support sustainable growth in the region, advance work to increase utilization and dissemination of EGS, reduce existing barriers and refrain from introducing new barriers to trade and investment in EGS, and enhance the capabilities of economies to develop their EGS sectors;

WHEREAS, under the 2012 Vladivostok Declaration, the APEC leaders endorsed the APEC List of Environmental Goods enumerating 54 environmental goods that "directly and positively contribute to green growth and sustainable development objectives," with a commitment to reduce applied rates to 5% or less on these environmental goods by the end of 2015, taking into account "economies' economic circumstances, without prejudice to their position in the WTO;"

WHEREAS, on 19 May 2015, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board recommended the reduction of the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) rates of duty on certain tariff lines under the APEC List of Environmental Goods by 2015; and ASEcHI

WHEREAS, Section 401 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1464, or the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), as amended, empowers the President, upon the recommendation of NEDA, to increase, reduce or remove existing rates of import duty, as well as to modify the tariff nomenclature.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the power vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. Rates of Import Duty. — The articles specifically listed in Annex A hereof, as classified under Section 104 of the TCCP, as amended, shall be subject to the MFN rate of duty in accordance with the schedule indicated opposite each article. The rates of import duty on tariff headings and subheadings which are not enumerated and those which are listed but represented by the symbol "xxx" shall remain in force and effect.

SECTION 2. Levy on Articles. — Upon the effectivity of this Order, all articles which are specifically listed in the aforesaid Annex and are entered into, or withdrawn from warehouses in the Philippines for consumption shall be levied the MFN rates of duty as therein prescribed.

SECTION 3. Repeal. — All issuances, orders, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 4. Separability. — Should any provision of this Order be declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions unaffected thereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 5. Effectivity. — This Order shall take effect immediately following its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 26th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Fifteen.

 

ANNEX A

HDG	AHTN Code	Description	MFN
No.	2012		Rate of
			Duty (%)
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
84.04		Auxiliary plant for use with boilers of heading 84.02
		or 84.03 (for example, economisers, super-heaters,
		soot removers, gas recoverers); condensers for
		steam or other vapour power units.
	8404.10	- xxx
	8404.10.10	- - xxx
	8404.10.20	- - xxx
	8404.20.00	- Condensers for steam or other vapour power units	5
	8404.90
	to
	8404.90.90	- - xxx
84.17		Industrial or laboratory furnaces and ovens,
		including incinerators, non-electric.
	8417.10.00	- xxx
	8417.20.00	- xxx
	8417.80.00	- Other:
	8417.80.00A	- - Waste incinerators	5
	8417.80.00B	- - Other	7
	8417.90.00	- xxx
84.21		Centrifuges, including centrifugal dryers; filtering or
		purifying machinery and apparatus for liquids or
		gases.
	8421.11.00 to
	8421.19.90	- - - xxx
		- Filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus for
		liquids:
		- - For filtering or purifying water:
		- - - Of a capacity not exceeding 500 l/h:
	8421.21.11	- - - - Filtering machinery and apparatus for domestic use	5
	8421.21.19	- - - - Other	5
		- - - Of a capacity exceeding 500 l/h
	8421.21.22	- - - - Electrically operated	5
	8421.21.23	- - - - Not electrically operated	5
	8421.22 to
	8421.99.99B	- - - - xxx