BOC digital invoicing system inches closer to implementation

Digital invoicing at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now nearing finalization as the government moves to implement the system in a bid to boost transparency, curb misdeclarations and ensure more effective revenue collection.

According to an informed source, the resolution approving the Request for Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Cross-Border Electronic Invoicing Project is currently being finalized.

Once approved, a Request for Expression of Interest (REI) will be published to invite suppliers and providers to participate in the project. The project is now with the public-private partnership (PPP) center for review.

This comes a year after President Marcos issued Administrative Order No. 23, which seeks to implement a digital and integrated system for pre-border technical verification and cross-border electronic invoicing of all imported commodities.

Under the AO, digital invoicing will allow a verified and registered foreign exporter to create an invoice on a single government-controlled electronic platform, which will be shared in real time with relevant agencies, including the BOC.

This means the invoice will be captured at source, instead of relying on the traditional practice of submitting local copies that can be altered.

The informed source explained that, under the current system, a shipment may be declared at $500,000 at the point of origin, but the invoice is sometimes edited to only $20,000 upon arrival in the Philippines—reducing the duties and taxes collected.

As it is, the digital invoicing system is seen as a key anticorruption measure, especially since the BOC has long been known as a hotbed of corruption.

On the revenue side, the system is expected to help boost collections. In 2025 alone, the agency’s revenues are projected to fall short of the P1.06-trillion target amid “extraordinary” circumstances, including the widening probe into anomalous flood control projects.

The pre-border technical verification, meanwhile, is still on hold due to external challenges.

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The Inquirer has learned that some foreign exporters are “complaining,” as the measure could impose additional costs on their companies.

In theory, the verification measure would require all commodities to be inspected and tested by accredited companies before being exported to the Philippines.

According to the AO, this would ensure the goods are safe and of good quality, while the source added it could also help shorten processing time at the border.

The AO also created the committee for pre-border technical verification and cross-border electronic invoicing, which will now be chaired by Finance Secretary Frederick Go.

Go, who has supported the measure since his time as secretary of the Office of the Special Assistant for Investment and Economic Affairs, said it would “institute a proper and efficient oversight of tradable goods coming into the country.”