Section 2Sec./Art. 2

Section 3 of R. A. No. 8178. as amended is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - The following definitions apply to the terms used in this Act:

"(a) Agricultural products shall refer to specific commodities classified under Chapters 1-24 of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) adopted and used in Section 1611 of R. A. No. 10863, otherwise known as the "Customs Modernization and Tariff Act" (CMTA);

"x x x

"(c) ATIGA Rate refers to tariff rate commitments under the ASEAN Trade m Goods Agreement (ATIGA) applicable to importations originating from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member States;

"(d) Bound rate refers to the agreed maximum tariffs on products committed by the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Uruguay Round Final Act, and under the ATIGA, in accordance with its tariff schedule (Annex 2: Tariffs under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA)- PHILIPPINES);

"(e) Buffer Stock refers to the optimal level of rice inventory that shall be maintained at any given time to be used for emergency situations and to sustain the disaster relief programs of the government during natural or man-made calamities;

"(f) In-Quota Tariff Rate refers to the tariff rates for minimum access volumes committed by the Philippines to the WTO under the Uruguay Round Final Act:

"(g) Out-Quota Tariff Rate refers to the higher rate of customs duty that is levied on the quantities of an imported agricultural product in excess of its minimum access volume (MAV);

"(h) Minimum Access Volume refers to the volume of a specific agricultural product that is allowed to be imported with a lower tariff as committed by the Philippines to the WTO under the Uruguay Round Final Act;

"(i) Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Rate refers to Philippine tariff rates that are applicable to imports from all sources as prescribed in the CMTA;

"(j) Quantitative Import Restrictions refer to non-tariff restrictions used to limit the amount of imported commodities, including, but not limited to discretionary import licensing and import quotas, whether qualified or absolute;

"(k) Rice refers to all products classified under the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) heading 10.06;

"(l) Rice Shortage is a situation where the quantity available or the supply of the commodity in a market falls short of the quantity demanded or required at a given time;

"(m) Tariff refers to a tax levied on a commodity imported from another country. It earns revenues for the government and regarded as instruments to promote local industries by taxing their competitors. The benefit is accorded to the local producers by the maintenance of a domestic price at a level equal to the world price plus the tariff;

"(n) Tariff Equivalent refers to the rate of tariff that provides comparable protection under existing quantitative import restrictions, reflected by the average price gap between domestic prices and world prices; and

"(o) Tariffication refers to the lifting of all existing quantitative restrictions such as import quotas or prohibitions, imposed on agricultural products, and replacing these restrictions with tariffs."