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MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 396, December 31, 2004 ]

REDUCING THE RATES OF IMPORT DUTY ON COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS MOTOR VEHICLES AND NATURAL GAS VEHICLE INDUSTRY – RELATED EQUIPMENT, PARTS AND COMPONENTS UNDER SECTION 104 OF THE TARIFF AND CUSTOMS CODE OF 1978 (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1464), AS AMENDED

WHEREAS, the Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transport (NGVPPT), which was launched on 16 October 2002, aims to enhance energy supply security in the transport sector through fuel diversification using indigenous natural gas as a clean alternative fuel for support;

WHEREAS, Executive Order 164 (Modifying the Nomenclature and the Rates of Import Duty on Various Products Under Section 104 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978), issued on 10 January 2003, reduced the rates of duty on natural gas vehicle (NGV) industry-related equipment, parts and components to encourage active private sector participation in the NGVPPT in terms of providing the necessary support, logistics and infrastructure;

WHEREAS, Executive Order 290 (Implementing the Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transport), issued on 24 February 2004, aims to ensure the effective implementation of the NGVPPT;

WHEREAS, import duties of 0% on compressed natural gas (CNG) motor vehicles and NGV industry-related equipment, parts and components will serve as further incentive to NGVPPT participants to invest in CNG buses and equipment;

WHEREAS, Section 401 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978 (Presidential Decree No. 1464), as amended, empowers the President of theRepublic of the Philippines to increase, reduce, or remove existing rates of import duty, as well as to modify the form of duty and the tariff nomenclature, under Section 104 of the Code.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

Section 1. The articles specifically listed in Annex "A" hereof, as classified under Section 104 of the Tariff and Customs Code of 1978, as amended, shall be subject to the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) import duty for the period in accordance with the schedule indicated opposite each article.

Section 2. The nomenclature and the rates of import duty on tariff headings not enumerated and those listed but represented by the symbol "X X X" shall remain in force and in effect.

Section 3. Upon the effectivity of this Executive Order, all articles listed in Annex "A" hereof which are entered or withdrawn from warehouses in the Philippines for consumption shall be levied the MFN rates of duty therein prescribed.

Section 4. The Department of Energy, in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Economic and Development Authority and the Bureau of Customs, shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations that will govern the implementation of this Executive Order.

Section 5. All Presidential issuances, administrative rules and regulations, or parts thereof, which are contrary to or inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby revoked or modified accordingly.1a⍵⍴h!1

Section 6. This Executive Order shall take effect thirty (30) days following its complete publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 31st day December, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Four.

(SGD.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary

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