Question about shipping to Philippians and what counts as restricted items.

[Kawaii Koneko]

I'm looking at https://www.trade.gov/knowledge-product/philippines-prohibited-restricted-imports and I have questions about shipping two items.

 

 

• Any article manufactured in whole or in part of gold, silver or other precious metals or alloys thereof, the stamps, brands or marks of which do not indicate the actual fineness of quality of metals or alloys;

What does it mean the stamps, brands, or marks?  Is a certificate of authenticity enough? And this should only apply to the metal/alloy right? Do any gems or diamonds need to be indicated as well?

 

FedEx has it's own list: https://crossborder.fedex.com/us/assets/prohibited-restricted/philippines/index.shtml I think they are actually even more strict than Philippians customs.

They list telecommunications equipment. I'm assuming this referring to transmitters and like infrastructure related things, correct? There shouldn't be any issue shipping a smartphone, right? Particularly a Huawei device?

 

Also, how does declaring value on custom forums work? Can I literally just put what I paid for the items? And what if I paid as example, $200 for something but customs thinks it's actually worth like $300? How does that work? I don't want anything getting hung up in customs, can I just provide my debit card information and they can charge me whatever it is or will there be a delay where they have to notify me and then I send money?

 

Oh, and also, does anyone know if FedEx handles off to a local courier or if they handle it themselves? I believe UPS hands it off and obviously USPS does but not sure about FedEx.

 

EDIT: Just got off the phone with FedEx, They said phones do count? What? 

 

Also, they said I don't need to worry about any jewelry unless it is over $1k in value.

 

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-send-a-cell-phone-to-the-philippines Says I can. Maybe it is just FedEx that won't do it. I'll have to try UPS.

 

[Universes]

You've already tried it, but my suggestion is to get the answer straight from the source, especially for such sensitive and detailed matters like import laws. 

 

13 hours ago, Kawaii Koneko said:

Also, how does declaring value on custom forums work? Can I literally just put what I paid for the items? And what if I paid as example, $200 for something but customs thinks it's actually worth like $300? How does that work? I don't want anything getting hung up in customs, can I just provide my debit card information and they can charge me whatever it is or will there be a delay where they have to notify me and then I send money?

Again, best to ask the proper authorities on this. Generally speaking, its the retail value. They use this to judge whether it's subject to duties or tariffs. 

13 hours ago, Kawaii Koneko said:

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-send-a-cell-phone-to-the-philippines Says I can. Maybe it is just FedEx that won't do it. I'll have to try UPS.

 

The laws apply the same to all couriers. It would be different if the matter was about company policy. 

[Kawaii Koneko]

1 hour ago, Universes said:

You've already tried it, but my suggestion is to get the answer straight from the source, especially for such sensitive and detailed matters like import laws. 

 

Again, best to ask the proper authorities on this. Generally speaking, its the retail value. They use this to judge whether it's subject to duties or tariffs. 

The laws apply the same to all couriers. It would be different if the matter was about company policy. 

How does that work though for items that have depreciated? If I'm sending a smartphone that retailed for $1k USD but now can be had for $200-300 on eBay, are they still going off a price from three years ago?

 

I know the laws apply to all couriers but what I meant is that perhaps FedEx is more strict. Like they are considering a smartphone telecommunications equipment regardless if customs considers it that or not so maybe UPS for example is more in tune with reality.  

[Universes]

My answer is the same as above: contact the proper authorities and get the answer from them. This topic is not opinionated or speculative. As well, the consequences for the wrong answer here is much more than just inconvenience or monetary. 

 

Telling a federal agency you did something because someone on the internet said you could is not going to go well. Therefore, no one is going to honestly give you more than an educated guess, and you should not (and will not) come back and blame someone because they gave you incorrect information.