General Provisions.
Section 10
SEC. 10. General Provisions.— Merchandise, supplies or materials imported by any branch of the Philippine Government, except those imported by Philippine government entities which are intended for commercial or profit making purposes, shall be exempt from storage charges: Provided, That whenever such consignments shall have been imported by other than the Philippine Government or branches thereof, or for sale thereto, storage shall be charged thereon as hereinbefore provided. Transit consignments manifested as such for any Philippine port of entry shall be exempt from storage charges at the first port of arrival if forwarded to the port of destination within six days, including Sundays and holidays, after the cargo of the importing vessel has been officially declared to be discharged. Thereafter storage charges shall accrue thereon at the rate of fifty centavos per ton per day. Foreign transit cargo landed at any port of entry in the Philippines destined for foreign ports shall be exempt from storage charges if forwarded to its destination within ten days, including Sundays and holidays, after the cargo of the importing vessel has been officially declared as discharged. Thereafter storage charges shall accrue thereon at the rate of fifty centavos per ton per day. Overlanded or misimported cargo not destined for the Philippines shall be exempt from storage charges if re-exported within six days, including Sundays and holidays, after the carrying vessel has been officially declared discharged. Thereafter, storage charges shall accrue thereon at the rate of fifty centavos per ton per day. Unmanifested cargo intended for the Philippines or of unknown destination, if claimed by steamship agents for local consumption shall, if released by the Collector of Customs, be treated as regular imported cargo, subject to the rates of storage charges fixed as hereinbefore provided. If claimed by said ship agents for re-exportation, the same shall be governed either by subsections (c) or (d) hereof, as the case may be. All other unclaimed merchandise, including over-landed cargo, the destination of which is unknown, if not claimed within thirty days after arrival of the importing vessel, shall pay storage charges from the date the cargo of the carrying vessel is officially declared as discharged to the time authority is issued permitting entry to be filed therefor. From the date it is permitted to be entered, unclaimed merchandise shall be treated as though originally landed on that date and shall be granted five working days' grace (except when sold at public auction) before storage charge again accrues, with a reduction of not exceeding ten per cent on account of their being packages designated for examination. Packages designated for examination shall not include those the delivery of which is suspended pending compliance with customs regulations, and which are not otherwise exempt from the payment of storage charges. Storage charges shall not, however, accrue on such packages during the suspension of delivery until after the expiration of three days immediately following the date of notice release to importer. Packages which remain in customs premises, pursuant to Philippine Health Service regulations or to regulations promulgated by other government bureaus offices, shall be exempt from the payment of storage charges during the time such regulations are being complied with. Storage charge at the daily rate of one peso per ton shall accrue on all goods remaining in the auction room if not removed on the day following the date of the completion of sale. Any consignment of merchandise, with the except of those mentioned in subsections (a), (b), (c), (d) , (e), (f), and (g) hereof, for which no entry has been filed within ten days after the cargo of the steamer from which such merchandise was landed has been officially declared a discharged, or if the entry therefor has been filed but the consignment remains at the piers, bulkheads, warehouses, or other customs premises, for a period of more than twenty days after the cargo of the vessel has been officially declared as discharged, shall be subject to storage charge at the rate of one peso per ton per day thereafter: Provided, however, That in ports of entry other than Manila, the rate of storage to be charged shall not exceed twenty-five centavos per ton per day. Merchandise brought to a pier or bulkhead for export and not loaded on a vessel within seventy-two hours shall thereafter pay storage charges up to the hour of loading at the rate of twenty-five centavos per ton per day, or part thereof. Any merchandise sent to the piers or bulkheads for shipment and not loaded on the exporting vessel for which it was intended must be removed from the pier or bulkhead within seventy-two hours after the departure of said vessel, and if not so removed shall be subject to a storage charge of fifty centavos per ton per day, or part thereof, thereafter. Coastwise cargo discharged at a national port, whether a port of entry or not, which remains on the government pier, wharf or other customs premises more than two working days after discharge of all consignments from the carrying vessel shall pay a storage charge of one peso per ton per day or part thereof. Coastwise cargo brought to a pier or wharf for shipment to another port and not loaded on the vessel for which intended shall, if not removed from the pier or within twenty-four hours after the departure of the said vessel, pay a storage charge of one peso per ton per day or fraction thereof. The storage charges hereinbefore prescribed accruing on cargo which has not been withdrawn or removed from the customs premises in due time, may, for good reasons, be reduced or remitted by the Collector of Customs, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Customs and of the Auditor General: Provided, That in case of reduction, the amount corresponding to such reduction shall not be in excess of fifty per cent nor less than ten per cent of the storage liability of the importer or consignee. For purposes of the assessment of the storage charges hereinbefore provided, the term "ton" shall be taken to mean a ton of one thousand kilos" or the American measurement ton of 1.1326124 cubic meters (40 cubic feet), whichever is greater. PART V.—Arrastre Charges