Republic Act No. 650 (RA 650) — An Act to Regulate Imports and for Other Purposes
SECTION 1. No commodity may be imported into the Philippines without an import license issued in accordance with the provisions of this Act, with the exception of the cases mentioned in section ten hereof: Provided, That the President of the Philippines, at any time may, by executive order, when the public welfare so demands, direct the importation of any class or kind of commodity without the need of any kind of license which directly or indirectly limits or controls importation and foreign exchange.
SEC. 2. The import license provided for in section one of this Act shall be issued by the President of the Philippines through such existing board or instrumentality of the Government as he may choose or create to assist him in the execution of this Act. No other government instrumentality or agency shall be authorized to qualify or question the validity of any license so issued. Questions of legality and interpretation of any license shall be decided exclusively by said board or instrumentality subject to appeal to the President.
SEC. 3. The President, on recommendation of the board or instrumentality provided for in section two, shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Act:
Issue rules and regulations for the enforcement of this Act;
Formulate policies for the granting of quota allocations and import licenses;
Budget the dollars certified and made available for imports by the Central Bank of the Philippines, among commodities or groups of commodities;
Delete or add items to appendix "A"; and
Reduce or ban the importation of non-essential commodities and those that are already produced economically and in sufficient quantities in the Philippines, except what may be imported under section ten of this Act.
SEC. 4. In budgeting the dollars available for essential imports, dollars shall be allocated for the importation of machinery, equipments, and raw materials for essential industries which should be encouraged and protected: Provided, however, That in the granting of dollar exchange, first priority shall be given to any government agency which is charged with the duties and functions of stockpiling essential articles, goods, or commodities, and/or with the stabilization of prices; and to all government agencies and instrumentalities for their essential needs as approved by the Department Secretary concerned.
Second priority shall be granted the needs of bona fide producers as regards the capital equipment and raw materials needed by them to the extent that they are not produced locally in adequate quantities.
After meeting the requirements mentioned above in the preceding paragraphs, the balance of the available foreign exchange shall be distributed among business firms and bona fide importers in accordance with the rules and regulations in the allocation of quotas, in proportion to their individual average importation in the year 1949, including such reasonable allocation for bona fide new Filipino importers as would encourage them to participate in importation.
The term "producers" shall include not only producers of agricultural and industrial products, but also public utilities, hospitals, publishers, educational institutions and, in general, institutions promoting the economic development of the country.
SEC. 5. The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of the Philippines shall certify and publish, immediately upon the passage of this Act, every six months thereafter, and also at any other time as it may deem advisable, the value of foreign exchange which shall be available for imports for the corresponding period.
SEC. 6. No import license shall be issued without available foreign exchange to cover such license, with the exception of cases enumerated in section ten of this Act.
SEC. 7. Upon the presentation to the Bureau of Customs of a duly issued import license, it shall be the ministerial duty of said Bureau to allow the entry of the import items covered by such import license.
SEC. 8. Unless extended in accordance with the rules and regulations, import licenses issued under this Act and which are not used within thirty days after their issue by the opening of a letter of credit or a similar transaction shall be null and void. Import licenses are non-transferable.
SEC. 9. Anyone who has been granted an import and corresponding foreign exchange license shall account for the investment of the latter, and, if found to have an unexpended balance, the allocation for such balance shall be cancelled. The foreign exchange corresponding to quota allocations and import licenses not used, may be the subject of new quota allocations to be issued in conformity with the rules and regulations.
SEC. 10. The following shall not be subject to import control and can be brought into Philippine jurisdiction without license:
Commodities of a value not exceeding five thousand pesos (P5.000) already used in a foreign country by the person or family importing the same, and which are being imported for the personal use of the person or family importing them, as well as gifts sent from abroad through the post office, of a value not more than one hundred pesos (P100) each gift, unless there is evidence of abuse in the use of this privilege; and
Commodities brought from abroad by a person who is returning to the Philippines, provided they are not being brought for commercial purposes, and do not exceed one thousand pesos (P1,000) in value, unless there is evidence of abuse in the use of this privilege.
SEC. 11. Any provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, import license shall be granted for the following:
Commodities brought from abroad without requiring foreign exchange and imported for purposes of investment in the Philippines: Provided, That the proceeds from these goods shall be deposited in any bank and may not be withdrawn therefrom except upon proper showing to the depository bank that said proceeds will be invested in the Philippines.
Goods imported from countries with which the Philippines has barter trade agreements, preference being given to producers who export to said countries.
SEC. 12. Quota allocations and import licenses granted in favor of an importer who is not a producer, covering essential commodities listed in Appendix "A" may be subjected by the Board of Directors of the Price Stabilization Corporation to a system of controls and rationing in its distribution, subject to such rules and regulations as may be issued by the said Board.
SEC. 13. All import licenses issued to any importer who is not a producer shall contain the condition that the importer shall reserve not less than fifty per cent of his imports for sale to bona fide Filipino merchants at the same mark-ups granted to his regular trade outlets. An importer who is unable to sell fifty per cent of his import to Filipino merchants shall apply to the President for authority to release the unused portions: Provided, That nothing contained in this Act shall in any way impair or abridge the rights granted to citizens and juridical entities of the United States of America under the Executive Agreement signed on July fourth, nineteen hundred and forty-six, between that country and the Republic of the Philippines.
SEC. 14. All applications for quota allocations and import licenses and all quota allocations and import licenses granted, as well as decisions, policies, rulings, orders and actions issued or taken under this Act shall be given wide publicity. The rules and regulations shall be published at least ten days before their respective dates of effectivity, giving all interested parties the opportunity within that time to present their views for consideration.
SEC. 15. The President may summarily bar firms or individuals from filing applications for import and/or from doing business in the Philippines for any of the following acts:
Any material misrepresentation in any document required by this Act or any rules or regulations issued in pursuance thereto;
Any violation of the provisions of this Act or any rules or regulations issued thereunder; and
The payment to any public official, directly or in directly, of any fee, premium or compensation other than those allowed by laws or regulations, in connection with the issuance or granting of quota allocations or licenses.
SEC. 16. There shall be collected on all import licenses granted a license fee of two per cent of the face value of the license, which may be used to defray the expenses of licensing. Any unexpended balance thereof shall accrue to the general funds.
SEC. 17. All valid quotas and licenses regularly approved by the previous Import Control Administration, the Import Control Board and the Price Stabilization Corporation before the effectivity of this Act shall be recognized and given full force and effect.
SEC. 18. The penalty or fine of not less than two thousand pesos (P2,000) nor more than twenty thousand pesos (P20,000), or imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than five years, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the Court shall be imposed upon persons who may be found guilty of the following acts:
Any material misrepresentation in any document required by this Act or the rules and regulations issued thereunder;
Any violation of any provisions of this Act or of the rules and regulations issued in pursuance thereto by officers or employees having to do with the enforcement of the same;
The receiving or accepting, by any public official or employee directly or indirectly, of fees, premiums or compensations of any kind other than those allowed by law or
by the rules and regulations, for the performance of any act or service connected with the issuance of import license or quota allocation;
Any violation of any provisions of this Act or of the rules and regulations issued thereunder: Provided, That in the case of aliens, the penalty to be imposed shall consist of the payment of the fine hereinabove provided for and that of immediate deportation without any further proceedings on the part of any Deportation Board; Provided, further, That if the violation is committed by the manager, representative, director, agent or employee of any natural or juridical person in the interest of the latter, such violation shall render the employer amenable to the penalty corresponding to the offense, without prejudice to the imposition of the corresponding penalty, either personal or pecuniary or both, upon the manager, representative, director, agent or employee committing the violation:
Provided, furthermore, That in the case of the violation being committed by or in the interest of a foreign juridical person duly licensed to engage in business in the Philippines, the immediate revocation of such license to engage in business shall form part of the penalty to be imposed:
Provided, also, That if the act committed by a public officer or employee is penalized by any other law, the penalties prescribed in the law punishing the offense shall be imposed in addition to those prescribed herein and that of perpetual absolute disqualification:
And provided, finally, That articles, goods or commodities imported in violation of this Act shall be subject to forfeiture in accordance with the procedure established in the Revised Administrative Code, the proceedings to terminate within thirty (30) days after the importation, and under no circumstances or conditions may such goods be released to the importer without the previous approval of the President.
SEC. 19. Any sections and provisions of this Act that may be declared unconstitutional by a competent court shall not affect the remaining provisions hereof.
SEC. 20. Republic Act Numbered Four hundred and twenty-six and Executive Orders Numbered Three hundred and eighty-four and Three hundred and eighty-eight, series of 1950 and 1951, respectively, as well as any other law or order contrary to the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.
SEC. 21. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1951 and continue in effect until June 30, 1953 unless sooner repealed or amended by Congress.
Approved, June 15, 1951.
APPENDIX "A"
COMPLETELY DECONTROLLED ITEMS
Rice
Flour
Tinned Fish
Sardines
Squid
Makerel
Herring
Salmon
Tinned Milk
Tinned Beef
Corned Beef
Canned Vienna Sausage
Corned Meat Spread
Frozen Beef
Colege Textbooks
Used clothing
Paper and other materials for books
All items decontrolled or ordered imported without limitation as to volume and value by Executive Orders promulgated before the effectivity of this Act.
ESSENTIAL ITEMS OF IMPORT
(Italiced words are classifications, not items of import)
Animal, Products, inedible
Hides and Skins
Cattle
Other hides and Skins
Leather, unmanufacture
Chamois
Sole and harness leather
Upper leather
patent Leather
Other unmanufactured leather
Leather, manufactures
Belting
Belting leather
Artificial Leather
Other inedible animal products
Glues
Animal wax
Grains and preparations
Poultry feeds
Vegetable preparations and vegetables
Yeast
Rubber and manufactures
Belts
Beltings
Cement (rubber)
Heels
Hose
Packing and gaskets
Sheets, crude
Sheets, manufactured
Sheeting and coling
Soles, inner
Soles, outer
Rubber, friction tapes
Tires
Gums
Arabic
Tragacanth
Other gums
Resins
Camphor
Rosen, resins
Shellac
Other resins and balsams
Turpentine
Linseed oil
Seeds and nursery stock
Seedlings, bulbs and plants
Onion seeds
Other vegetables seeds
All other seeds
Miscellaneous vegetable products
Fodder and feeds
Forage crop
Fodder
Other forage crop
Animal feeds
Hops
Textiles and manufactures
Cotton
Unmanufactured
Raw Cotton
Semi-Manufactures
Waste Cotton
Yarns
Unmercerized
Mercerized
Twines
Manufactures
Cloth
Threads, Sewing and Crochet
Unbleached
Bleached
For Embroidery
Other
Fabrics
Remmants
Miscellaneous Cotton Manufactures
Beltings
Filter Cloth
Ribbon, Ink
Shoe Tops, Rubberized Fabrics
Flax or linen
Jute and other fibers
Bags
Burlaps and Baggings
Cordage
Oakum
Threads and Twines
Others
Wool and wool manufactures
Semi-manufactures
Manufactures
Woven Fabrics
Waste wool
Hair and Manufactures
Bristles
Rayon or Other Synthetic Textiles
Manufactures of
Woven Fabrics
Cloths
Remnants
Other manufactures
Threads
Yarns
Cork and manufactures
Stoppers
Board or in Sheets
Paper and manufactures
Unprinted
Cigarette paper
Paper for adding machine and cash register
Printing paper
For Books
For Newspapers
Roofing felt and sheathing
Paste board and cardboard
Wallboard
Non-metallic minerals
Natural gas
Coal and related fuel
Coal
Coke
Petroleum products
Bunker fuel oil
Diesel oil
Gasoline and other motor spirits
Naphthas-all lighter products of distillation
Kerosene
Lubricating oils
Coal tar
Creosote or dead oil
Flotation oils
Grease
Petroleum asphalt
Unmanufactured
Other manufactures of asphalt
Petroleum jelly (Vaseline)
Residium and all other petroleum products from which light bodies have been distilled
Wax, mineral and paraffin
Gypsum products
Gypsum
Plaster of Paris
sulphur
Talc Powder (Not face powder)
Glass and Glass Products
Plate glass
Window glass
Sheets glass (not plate nor window)
Bottles, vials, jars, etc.
Bottles and jars
Ampules and vials
Demijohns
Optical glass and lenses
Clay, Clay Products and other manufactures
Chalk, crude
China clay, kaolin
Fire clay
Fuller's earth
Graphite or plumbago
Pumice
Silica
Manufactures
Asbestos
Packing
Shingles and roofing
Textiles
Other asbestos
Clay, Clay Products, etc.
Manufactures
Bricks, fire
Emery cloth and Emery paper
Emery sand and powder
Emery or corundum wheels
Grind stones
Hones and Whetstones
Sewer pipe and conduits
Metal and manufactures
Iron and steel
Semi-manufacture
Pig iron
Bar iron
Boiler plates
Steel rods and bars
Sheet, plates and hoop iron
Band Hoop Iron
Corrugated roofing
Plain, galvanized
Tin plates, terneplates and Jaggers tin
Other galvanized
Scrap, tin plates
Steel Mill Products
Structural Iron and Steel
Angles and channels
Beams
Railroad track materials
Pre-fabricated
Structural
Casting and gorgings
Other structural
Wire and manufacture
Barb wire
Cables and Wire ropes
Gauze
Netting, fencing and fence gates
Round wire
Bright nail wire
Roofing nails
Except finishing nails
Spikes
Tacks, stapples, etc.
Nuts, bolts, washers and rivets
Advance Manufactures
Buckets
Chains
Horse shoes
Needles
Iron and Steel
Advance Manufactures
Tools
Augers,drills, braces, gimlets amd reamers
Axes, Adz and hatchets
File and rasps
Gauges, square and levelers
Hammers
Hoes, rakes and shovels
Planes and chisels
Pliers
Saws
Vices
Wrench
Mechanics tools not else specified
All other tools
Incubators and brooders-not electric
Heating and cooking equipments
Welding equipment (oxy-acetylene)
Butts and hinges
Locks
Pipes and Fittings
Cast iron (soil)
Steel, Black
Steel, galvanized
Screws
Tackles, pulleys
Machinery except agricultural and electrical
Printing and book binding machinery
Book binding machine
Printing, machine and parts
Typesetting machines
Typesetting machines parts
Power Generating machinery
Boilers and parts
Motor parts except electric
Stationery and marine engines
Stationery and marine engines, parts
All other engine and parts
Construction and conveying machinery
Concrete mixers and parts
Hoisting machine
Road making machinery
Road making machinery, parts
All other machinery
Air compressors
Coffee and corn mills
Fiber stripping machine
Fiber stripping machine, parts
Logging equipment
Metal grinders
Metal working machinery and parts
Mining machinery and parts
Oil extracting machine and parts
Pumps and pumping machinery and parts
Refrigerating machinery and parts
Saw mill machinery and parts
Sewing machines
Sewing machines parts
Sugar mill and parts
Woodworking machinery and parts
All other machinery, machine and parts except the lawn mowers.
ice cream freezers, and laundry machines.
Agricultural Machinery and Implements
Irrigation and other pumps
Plows, cultivators, harrows and parts
Reapers and mowers
Rice Hullers and Cleaners
Rice Hullers and Cleaners parts
Rice Threshers
Rice Threshers parts
All other agricultural machinery, implements and parts
Non-ferrous metals, except precious
Aluminum and Manufactures of Foil
Sheets, corrugated
Sheets, plain
Antimony
Brass and bronze
Bars and rods
Locks, hinges and bolts
Machinery and parts
Tacks, srews, nuts, bolts, washers and rivets
Other builders' hardware
Pipes and fittings
Sheets
Wire
Copper and manufactures
Bars, ingots, slabs and pigs
Tacks, srews, nuts, bolts, washers and rivets
Pipes and fittings
Sheets (Montz metal)
Wire (bars)
Wire , insulated
Lead
Pigs, bars and sheets
Bottle caps
Solder and babbit metal
Type and type metal
Mercury (quicksilver)
Nickel
Tin
Ingots
Tinfoil
Zinc
Pigs, bars and sheets
Dusts
Miscellaneous metal manufactures
Bottle, caps, tinplate
Cans, empty tinplate
Cylinders, empty
Ferro, alloys
Ferrochrome
Ferrosilicon
Electrical Machinery and appliances
Armatures and commutators
Batteries and flashlights
Batteries, dry cell
Batteries, storage or wet
Condensing units
Dynamos, generators and turbines
Electrical Tools
Incubators and brooders
Magnets
Motor and pumps
Motors parts
Transformers
Welding equipment
Vehicles and Parts
Trucks
Automobiles valued not more than P3,800
Parts and accessories
Cars, railway, and trams and parts
Locomotives
Locomotive parts
Tractors, wheel type
Tractor, crawler type
Tractor, parts
Parts of equipment and repairs for vessels
Wagons, trailers and carts
Wheelbarrows, pushcarts and hand trucks
Axles, wheels and springs for carts
All other vehicles and parts
Chemicals, Drugs, Dyes, Medicines and Medical Equipment and Supplies
Acids
Acetic
Boric
Carbolic
Citric
Muriatic (Hydrocloric)
Nitric
Oxalic
Sulphuric
Tartaric
All other acids
Other chemicals
Anti-biotics, household remedies, proprietary medicine, etc.
Alum (Sudium aluminum, sulphate)
Ammonia, anhydros
Ammonia, aqua
Ammonia, carbonate and bicarbonate
Baking powder
Calcium carbide
Cementing preparation other than rubber
Cream of tartar
Cyanide (potassium and sodium)
Dextrin
Disinfectant deodorants
Flavoring extracts (ajinomoto, vetsen, etc.)
Formaldehyde or formalin
Glycerine
Insecticides
Iodoform
Lime chloride (bleaching powder)
Magnesium carbonate and bicarbonate
Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt)
Metal polishes
Oxygen gas
Potash, caustic
Potash, chlorate and perchlorate
Potasium bicarbonate and chromate
Potassium bromide
Saccharine
Silver nitrate
Sodium bicarbonate
Sodium carbonate
Sodium silicate
Sodium sulphate (Gloubers salt)
All other chemicals
Dental equipment, dental products and dental gold
Chemical, Drugs, etc.
Medical and Pharmaceutical preparations
Dyes
Indigo
Aneline
Other dyes
Dyeing materials
Cutch
Other dyeing materials
Fertilizers and Fertilizing Materials
Animal and Vegetable Fertilizer
Nitrate of potash
Phosphate of ammonia
Sulphate of potash
Superphosphate
Mixed fertilizers
Other chemical fertilizers
Explosives
Blasting caps
Cartridge
Dynamite
Fuses
Gunpowder
Paints, Pigments and Vegetables
Lead, Red
Lead, White
Litharge
Lithopane
Other, Iron oxide and other mineral earth pigments
Ultramarine blue
Varnish
Zinc oxide
Linseed oil
Turpentine
Miscellaneous
Drawing instruments
Microscopes
Surveying and engineering instruments
Othe scientific and laboratory instruments
Fine tools
Films
Unexposed
Sensitized paper, including photographic and photostatic paper materials for map and plan printing only
Fish hooks
Fishing rods and tackles
Time clocks
Parts of clocks and watches
Brushes
Paint
Blacking and leather dressing
Celluloid and manufactures
Sheets and strips
Cellophane and manufactures
Sheets and strips
Ink, and Ink powder
Printers Ink
Muscilage and paste
Plastic materials other than Pyroxyline products
Beltings
Sheets and Sheeting
Soling and Heelings
Athletic goods not produced locally including .22 caliber target firearms and ammunition
Jute and Hessian Bags
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
