The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued a new memorandum circular that applies to and covers all persons entities involved in the export, re-export, or reassignment of strategic goods.
Memorandum Circular (MC) 25-20, which took effect last Dec. 18, stipulates that individuals and entities who have not yet secured an authorization for the export of strategic goods covered by the Philippine Strategic Trade and Management Act (STMA) shall be required to apply for an export authorization from Strategic Trade Management Office (STMO) of the DTI.
This is subject to the requirements and procedure described in DTI Memorandum Circular No. 25-17 which provides the guidelines on export authorization, and its succeeding amendments.
The STMO shall include a provision for re-export or reassignment as a specific condition in the issued export authorization.
The MC said the exporter shall not be required to apply for a separate authorization for the re-export or reassignment of strategic goods, provided that the exporter has a valid export authorization covering the same item, end-use, end-user, country of destination, consignee, and third parties.
“Re-export/ re-transfer/ reassignment shall be conducted only with prior written authorization from the importing country’s export control authority,” it said.
Re-export refers to the export to a foreign country of strategic goods either previously imported to or exported from the Philippines.
Reassignment, on the other hand, refers to the reallocation of strategic goods previously exported from the Philippines from one person to another within a single foreign country by any means, including the electronic transmission of software and technology.
Pursuant to STMA and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR), the authorization holder shall ensure compliance with the recordkeeping requirements, submission of related documents, and end-use controls for strategic goods not listed in the National Strategic Goods List.
The authorization shall be valid for the duration specified in the authorization, unless otherwise revoked, suspended, or annulled by the STMO upon a finding that any of the grounds enumerated in the STMA IRR exist.
The strategic goods listed in the authorization shall be shipped only to the countries of destination and/or specific end-users stated in the license.
Those listed in the authorization shall be used exclusively for the stated end-use and shall not be used in the development, production, handling, operation, usage, maintenance, storage, detection, inventory, identification, or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
According to MC 25-20, the authorization holder is subject to an STMO compliance visit and shall provide a periodic report, through the e-licensing system, regarding the usage of the authorization on or before a set deadline, and as requested by the STMO.
Suspension, return, grounds for annulment, revocation, limitation or modification involving STMO-issued export authorizations are stipulated under Sections 9, 11, 12, and 13 of the STMA IRR.
Any violation of the provisions of the Circular shall be subject to applicable administrative and/ or criminal penalties under the STMA, including other applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
