PROCEDURES FOR ACCREDITATION OF COFFEE EXPORTERS

1. Applicant submits letter of Application for Accreditation together with Business Name or
SEC Registration, BIR Registration, Mayor’s Permit, and Latest Audited Financial
Statement.
2. ICOCA evaluates the application and conducts a plant/factory and/ or plantation visit.
3. ICOCA prepares Evaluation Report and assigns an exporter’s ICO identification code
number.
4. ICOCA approves and releases the exporter’s Certificate of Accreditation.
5. ICOCA orients the newly-accredited exporter on the systems, rules, and procedures of
exporting coffee.
PROCEDURES FOR COFFEE EXPORT DOCUMENTATION
(Pre-loading stage)
1. Applicant submits duly accomplished Export Declaration (ED) form together with Letter
of Credit (LC) or Export Contract and Sales Invoice.
2. ICOCA evaluates, approves, and releases the Certificate of Clearance.
(Post-loading stage)
1. Applicant submits a copy of the signed Bill of Lading (B/L) or Airway Bill and validated
ED for verification and recoding of shipment data.
2. ICOCA prepares, approves, and releases the Certificate of Origin for submission to and
countersigning of the Bureau of Customs (BoC).
3 Applicant returns photocopy of Original, Green and Blue copy of validated CO to ICOCA
for submission to ICO-London.
PROCEDURES FOR CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION
ON SAMPLE SIZE COFFEE SHIPMENT
1. Applicant submits letter-request for Certificate of Exemption for small quantities of coffee
export parcels with the following weight equivalent:
Green beans   –   60kg
Roasted beans –  23 kg.
Instant/soluble –120 kg
2. May also submit the Invoice List or Packing List
3. ICOCA evaluates, approves, and releases the Certificate of Exemption. This shall be valid
for one shipment to one consignee only.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCREDITATION OF COFFEE EXPORTERS

1. Letter of Application for Accreditation (Click for a sample form letter for Application for 

Accreditation)

2. Business Name or SEC Registration

3. BIR Registration

4. Mayor’s Permit

5. Latest Audited Financial Statement/Certificate of Capitalization (for established 

companies) or Balance Sheet (for newly established firms)

6. Authorization of official representatives to transact business with ICOCA (for 

corporations)

REQUIREMENTS FOR COFFEE EXPORTATION

1. Exporter must be duly accredited by ICOCA. (Please see Procedures for Accreditation).

2. For pre-loading of coffee shipment: 

a. Duly accomplished Export Declaration (ED) Form (Click ED for Coffee Export)

b. Sales Invoice/Pro-forma Invoice

c. Letter of Credit (LC) or Sales Contract (optional) 

3. For post-loading of coffee shipment:

a. Copy of the signed Bill of Lading (B/L) or Airway Bill

b. Validated ED 

REQUIREMENTS FOR SAMPLE SIZE COFFEE SHIPMENTS

1. Letter request for a Certificate of Exemption from the issuance of Coffee Export Clearance 

and Certificate of Origin (Click for a sample  form letter for Application for Certificate of 

Exemption) for sample and parcels of up to a maximum net weight of 60kg. of green coffee 

or the equivalent thereof, namely:

a. 120 kg. of dried cherry; or

b 75kg. of parchment coffee; or

c. 50.4 kg. of roasted coffee; or

d. 23 kg. of soluble or liquid coffee

2. Invoice/packing list (optional)  

EXPORT PROCEDURES

Exporting is both challenging and rewarding. Export procedures are simple and the export documentation required has been lessened.

Build your knowledge and develop skills on the dynamics of exporting by attending seminars/training courses on the basics of exporting, letters of credit, negotiating with the foreign buyers, etc., The Philippine Trade Training Center offers courses on these topics.

If you are not yet in business and would like to set up an export company, register with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); with the city or the municipality where you intend to operate the business; and with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

However, business registration by itself does not ensure success unless the basic foundations for a viable export enterprise are present. These are:

• Organization Readiness - Management is willing to commit resources of the enterprise.
• Product Readiness - Product meets foreign buyer’s requirements in both quality and price.

 

GENERAL EXPORT PROCEDURES

1. Upon receipt of a purchase order from a foreign buyer, immediately send him a proforma invoice for confirmation. An order is confirmed when the proforma invoice is signed and returned to you by the buyer.
      
2. Payment for exports is normally made through the banks. The foreign buyer?s interest in the Philippines is represented by a local authorized agent bank, which is designated by the foreign buyer’s bank. The local Authorized Agent Bank (AAB) will assist you in negotiating the collection of the payment for your exports.
3. The AAB will explain to you all the instructions concerning your shipment to ensure its acceptability for payment. Make sure that you understand all the instructions provided by the bank.  If the instructions are written in a foreign language, ask the bank to give you an official translation in English or ask the bank to officially recognize a translation of the instructions, if the translation was made by someone other than the bank.
4. Exporters may be paid through banks by means letters of credit (L/C), documents against payment (D/P), documents against acceptance (D/A), open account (O/A), cash against documents (CAD), prepayment/export advance, inter-company open account, offset arrangement, consignment, or telegraphic transfer.
5. You may or may not need outside financing to produce export products ordered by the buyer. Should you, however, find the need for outside financing, you can either tap the assistance of government or non-government financial institutions.  

EXPORT DOCUMENTATION

1. When you are ready to ship, fill up an Export Declaration (ED) form. Sample ED forms are available at BETP, DTI Provincial offices, BOC Processing Units, OSEDCs and PHILEXPORT offices.
2. Secure an export commodity clearance/export permit from the proper government commodity office, if your product is included in the list of regulated products for exportation or if the buyer requires.
3. With the required supporting documents, submit the accomplished ED form to the BOC Processing Unit for the approval of the Authority to Load (AL).

SENDING SAMPLE SHIPMENTS

Follow steps 1, 2, and 3, of Export Documentation.

LOADING IN MANILA

Cargoes to be transported by air are inspected by the BOC at the NAIA. Conventional cargoes, whether containerized or non-containerized, to be transported by ship are inspected by the Customs Container Control Division and the Piers and Inspection division, respectively, after payment of the wharfage fee and arrastre charges. Wharfage fee and arrastre services may be paid at South Harbor or MICP.

However, for BOI and PEZA registered companies, stamping or exemption from payment of wharfage fee may be done at the PPA Unit of OSEDC-Manila at Roxas Boulevard. Loading can either be at the North or South Harbor.

LOADING AT PROVINCIAL PORTS

Documentation (steps 1-3) may be done in Manila. After approval of the Authority to Load, BOC sends message to BOC at the Port of Loading.

You can also process documents and secure Authority to Load from the local OSEDC (now in Clark, Davao, Baguio, General Santos, Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Subic Bay Special Economic Freeport Zone).

After loading, the BOC issues the following documents upon request:

1. Certificate of Origin, Form A (for export products covered by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). You can inquire about the GSP from DTI Bureau of International Trade Relations or Bureau of customs.
2. General Certificate of Origin (for export products not availing of preferences under GSP).
3. Certificate of Origin, Form D (for export products covered by the ASEAN Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme).
4. Certificate of Shipment.

Furnish the AAB, for record purposes, a copy of the duly accomplished ED form together with other shipping documents, if export negotiation or payment is coursed through them.

For shipments that are prepaid, send the original commercial and shipping documents to the buyer.