Any individual, group, or organization can send donations to the Philippines. To avail of duty-free entry of donations, certain conditions and requirements have to be complied with under existing rules and regulations governing the importation of donations. There are specific items which may be allowed duty-free entry, as there are organizations entities in the Philippines that are allowed to receive donations on a duty-free basis.

Goods or items below which may be granted duty-free entry by the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Customs, upon the recommendation of the Department of Social Work and Development or other concerned agency:

:

• Food items and non-food commodities for relief dispensing organizations;
• Medicines and medical supplies/ equipment;
• Books and other educational, scientific, or cultural materials;
• Essential machinery and equipment, including spare parts and accessories thereof;
• Essential consumer goods not available locally in times of calamities and/ or fortuitous events; and
• Other articles in the interest of economic development, not included in the list of prohibited/ contraband and restricted/ regulated items issued by government agencies concerned subject to certain conditions.

Prospective donors can seek assistance from the: E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The following agencies/ entities/ institutions in the Philippines may receive donations on a duty-free basis:

• Non-profit, welfare, religious, and charitable organizations which are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and duly licensed/ accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), as provided for in Section 105 (1) of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines;

• Educational institutions accredited by the Department of Education that are enjoying tax incentives under Department of Finance Order No. 137-87;

• Educational, scientific, and cultural institutions or societies, and similar organizations duly approved by competent authorities such as DECS and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) National Commission of the Philippines;

• Other non-profit religious and charitable institutions (except civic/ service/ cultural and scientific organizations), duly registered primary and secondary hospitals upon recommendation by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA); and

• Other organizations covered by bilateral or international agreements to which the Philippines is a signatory, and by Presidential decrees and other special laws.

Government agencies including local government units may also receive donations, in cash or in kind, from foreign sources for purposes relevant to their functions. The acceptance of donations from foreign governments is, however, subject to prior clearance and approval of the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs (General Provisions of the General appropriations Act). Taxes and customs duties to be paid by government agencies on this importation will be subject to automatic appropriations (General Provisions of the General Appropriations Act).

NOTE: Other organizations not licensed or accredited by DSWD, Department of Health (DOH), and DECS may also receive donations but they will be required to pay customs duties and taxes. . All importations of donated articles are subject to the payment of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) unless expressly exempt from such imposition Under Title IV, Chapter I, Section 1 of the VAT law. The VAT is Equivalent to about 10% of the landed cost of the shipment.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROCESSING OF DONATIONS WITH DUTY-FREE PRIVILEGE

The documents required from the donor prior to the issuance of duty-free certification by the government agencies concerned are the following:

1. Deed of Donation, duly authenticated by the Philippine Embassy;
2. Commercial Invoice and/or packing list/inventory of donated items; and
3. Shipping documents (bill of lading/airway bill).

THE RECIPIENT ORGANIZATION IS USUALLY EXPECTED TO SHOULDER THE COST OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Shipment cost from port of origin to port of entry.
• Arrastre and wharfage charges. Storage fees for donated goods kept at the storage area (i.e., NAIA Cargo Terminal, Manila International Container Port, South Harbor) while awaiting release from the custody of the Bureau of Customs, if the cargo is not withdrawn within seven (7) working days.
• Demurrage fees (being charged by the shipping lines) for the use of the containers/ vans, if the cargo is not withdrawn within seven to ten (7-10) working days depending on the policy of the shipping agency.
• Trucking fees to transport cargo from the container yard to the recipient/ consignee’s warehouse.
• Customs brokerage fees, if services of a customs broker or a brokerage firm is availed of.

NOTE: If the recipient is not in a financial position to defray the aforementioned fees, the donor should be made aware that other fees/ charges will be collected on the donations upon arrival of the shipment in the Philippines.

PROCEDURES TO FACILITATE THE ENTRY, PROCESSING AND RELEASE OF FOREIGN DONATIONS

A. Prior to Shipment

1. Prospective donors who intend to ship goods/articles/equipment must inform the Philippine Embassy of their intention to donate. The donor will have to provide the Embassy with a complete list of items to be donated, name of consignee, his complete address, and telephone number, and the contact person in the Philippines.
2. The Philippine Embassy will refer the prospective donation to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). Upon receipt of the notice of intent to donate, the CFO will coordinate with government agencies concerned and the designated consignee to determine if the intended donation is eligible for duty-free entry and if the designated consignee is qualified to accept the donation free from duties. The CFO will inform the Philippine Embassy about the requirements and obligations in connection with the intended donation; and 
   
   
3. The Philippine Embassy will advise the donor on feedback from Manila, including the requirements for duty-free entry. The Philippine Embassy authenticates the Deed of Donation prior to its shipment in Manila.

B. Shipment of Donations

1. To allow sufficient time for the processing of the donation, the donor must send advance copies of the following documents to the designated consignee at least thirty (30) days prior to the actual shipment of the goods to the Philippines;

1. Deed of Donation, duly authenticated by the Philippine Embassy; and ,
2. Commercial invoice and/or packing list/inventory of donated items.

2. The Donor must ensure that the name of the consignee is identical in both Deed of Donation and the shipping documents, i.e. Bill of Lading or the Airway Bill. The donor must also determine that the shipment contains only the items in the packing list. The donor may also send advance copies of the aforementioned documents to the CFO through the Philippine Embassy for purpose of coordination.

3. Upon receipt of the advance copies of required documents from the donor, the recipient will be advised to coordinate with appropriate agencies and submit required documents; and,           

4. The recipient must monitor the arrival of the shipment by coordinating with the shipping agency. The shipping agency will usually send an arrival notice to the consignee.

C. Processing of Donations

1. Upon receipt of the request of the consignee for the duty-free importation, the appropriate agency (Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education, Culture and Sports, or the National Economic Development Administration) will recommend to the Department of Finance (DOF) that the importation be exempted from customs duties, if deemed meritorious. These agencies can also recommend denial of the request for exemption from payment of duties;

2. Upon endorsement by the appropriate agency for the duty-free entry of the donation, the DOF will issue a clearance and will forward this document to the Tax Exemption Division, Bureau of Custom (BOC). The consignee may obtain a duplicate copy of the DOF clearance from DOF; 

3. The Tax Exempt Division of the BOC will endorse the release of donation and will forward this document to the Informal Entry Division (IED) of the BOC District Office concerned (i.e. South Harbor, Manila International Container Port, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, etc.). The IED checks, verifies, appraises, and examines the donated shipment; The original copies of the Deed of Donation, commercial invoice and/or packing list, and the Bill of Lading or the Airway Bill must be received by the consignee on or before the arrival of the shipment in the Philippines to effect its release; and

4. After the consignee complies with all the documentation and pays the charges (i.e. arrastre, wharfage, value-added tax, etc.), the BOC will release the shipment to the consignee.         fffffffffff          

NOTE: All donations, regardless of its type or classification, follow the general procedures instituted in facilitating its entry, processing, and release, and should satisfy as well the general requirements in availing of duty-free privileges. Depending of the type of donations and/or the identified beneficiaries, however, concerned Departments/agencies in the Philippines, i.e. DSWD, Department of Health, Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Bureau of Food and Drugs, may prescribe additional requirements and procedures in the processing of foreign donations.

For assistance, questions and/or additional information, prospective donors may contact the CFO at the following address, telephone/fax numbers and e-mail address:

Commission on Filipinos Overseas

1345 Citigold Center
Quirino Avenue cor. South Superhighway
Manila, Philippines
Tel # 011.632.562.3852
Fax # 011.632.561.8332
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.