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Chief Officials and Functions of the Bureau of Customs in the Philippines

• The Bureau of Customs is headed by a Commissioner appointed by the President of the Philippines, who is assisted by four to six Deputy Commissioners also appointed by the President.
• The Bureau of Customs has one Chief, who is the Commissioner, and six Assistant Chiefs, who are the Deputy Commissioners and one assistant commissioner.
• Each Deputy Commissioner heads a specific group, including the Revenue Collection Monitoring Group, Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group, Management Information System and Technology Group, Intelligence Group, Enforcement Group, and Internal Administration Group.
• The Internal Administration Group is headed and supervised by a Deputy Commissioner and is composed of the Financial Management Office, Administration Office, and Offices Directly Reports to Deputy Commissioner.
• The Internal Administration Group assists the Commissioner in the formulation of policies and objectives related to financial, administrative, personnel, planning, and management improvement services of the bureau.
• The Assessment and Operations Coordination Group gathers and publishes the values of commodities imported into the country and monitors the implementation of rules and regulations governing assessment and processing of goods for exports, warehousing and support operations, and auction and disposal activities.
• The Import and Assessment Service is responsible for ensuring that the goods imported into the country are correctly assessed prior to release from customs custody.
• The Port Operations Service is responsible for the auction and disposal of goods, export coordination, and port operations.
• If an importer fails to lodge the import declaration within 15 days, the cargo is considered impliedly abandoned and may be subject to forfeiture and auction within 30 days.
• Smuggled imports, including cars, may also be subject to auction, while illegal drugs are subject to disposal.
• Perishable goods that have already deteriorated may also be subject to disposal, as well as all prohibited goods.
• The Port Operations Division is responsible for arrastre or wharfage issues.