Section 1003Sec./Art. 1003

Requirement to Keep Records. (a) All importers are required to keep at their principal place of business, in the manner prescribed by regulations to be issued by the Commissioner and for a period of three (3) years from the date of final payment of duties and taxes or customs clearance, as the case may be, all records pertaining to the ordinary course of business and to any activity or information contained in the records required by this title in connection with any such activity.

For purposes of the post clearance audit and Section 1005 of this Act, the term importer shall include the following:

(1) Importer-of-record or consignee, owner or declarant, or a party who:

(i) Imports goods into the Philippines or withdraws such goods into the Philippine customs territory for consumption or warehousing; files a claim for refund or drawback; or transports or stores such goods carried or held under security; or

(ii) Knowingly causes the importation or transportation or storage of imported goods referred to above, or the filing of refund or drawback claim.

(2) An agent of any party described in paragraph (1); or

(3) A person whose activities require the filing of a goods declaration.

A person ordering imported goods from a local importer or supplier in a domestic transaction shall be exempted from the requirements imposed by this section unless:

(1) The terms and conditions of the importation are controlled by the person placing the order; or

(2) The circumstances and nature of the relationship between the person placing the order and the importer or supplier are such that the former may be considered as the beneficial or true owner of the imported goods; or

(3) The person placing the order had prior knowledge that they will be used in the manufacture or production of the imported goods.

(b) All parties engaged in customs clearance and processing are required to keep at their principal place of business, in the manner prescribed by regulations to be issued by the Commissioner and for a period of three (3) years from the date of filing of the goods declaration, copies of the abovementioned records covering the transactions handled.

(c) Locators or persons authorized to bring imported goods into free zones, such as the special economic zones and free ports, are required to keep subject-records of all its activities, including in whole or in part, records on imported goods withdrawn from said zones into the customs territory for a period of three (3) years from the date of filing of the goods declaration.

Failure to keep the records required by this Act shall constitute a waiver of this right to contest the results of the audit based on records kept by the Bureau.