Philippines — E-konek
The pre-arrival cargo manifest for imports into the Philippines, filed through e-Konek — an accredited value-added service provider — to the Bureau of Customs.
Read Customs filing first for the flow. This page covers what is specific to the Philippines.
When the card appears
On any shipment discharging in the Philippines.
What you file
One EMS manifest per house bill. The house bill number is the reference the Bureau tracks it by, and it must be unique.
The Philippines EMS filing card
Validate first, then file — this is the country where it matters most
Mode | What happens | Status |
|---|---|---|
Validate only ( | e-Konek checks the waybill against the Bureau's own reference tables and stores it. The Bureau never sees it. No callback is raised. | Validated (LV) — not filed to BOC |
Submit to Customs ( | e-Konek signs it and files it with the Bureau. A real declaration. | Awaiting customs response |
Validate-first is e-Konek's own recommended path, not a workaround. A validated manifest is not an error and it is not half-filed — it is a manifest that has passed every check and is waiting for you. The record offers Submit to Customs (SB) →, and everything you entered carries over.
The e-Konek filing-mode choice — validate only at the VASP, or submit to the Bureau
The codes are the Bureau's, not yours
This is the single biggest difference between the Philippines and everywhere else we file.
e-Konek validates coded fields against the Bureau of Customs' own published tables — and those are not the codes your shipment carries.
Ports. The standard code for Manila does not exist in the Bureau's table. Manila has five codes that differ by terminal — Port of Manila, MICP, Manila, South Harbor, North Harbor — and only you know which one the cargo is actually arriving at.
Carriers. The Bureau uses a three-character scheme with no relationship to SCAC. "COSCO" alone matches nineteen entries.
So the form suggests from the real tables and you choose. It never picks for you, because filing the wrong terminal or the wrong carrier entity is a live rejection with the Bureau.
Bureau of Customs codes, validated as you type — P02B resolves to Manila Intl Container Port
The Bureau's tables have gaps — their currency list, for example, omits USD. Every one of these fields therefore lets you type a value that is not on the list. If the code you need is not offered, enter it.
What you need to have ready
The shipment answers around eight in ten fields. What you supply:
Customs office — the office the manifest is lodged with
Carrier code from the Bureau's table
Vessel nationality
Port codes from the Bureau's table, per the terminal above
Your e-Konek user identifier
Marks, packages and gross weight, where the shipment does not carry them
Freight detail, if you declare it — and it is all or nothing: indicator, amount and currency together, or none of the three
What comes back
Two different things arrive, at two different times.
Immediately, e-Konek answers per bill of lading with a message code — accepted for validation, accepted for submission, or one of thirteen error codes.
Later, once the Bureau has processed a submitted manifest, e-Konek calls us back with the Bureau's own status. That callback lands on the record by itself: Submit Store, Stored, or Store Error. A full loop typically completes in well under an hour.
A validate-only filing never produces a callback. That is correct — the Bureau was never asked.
An accepted manifest with the Bureau status history — Submit Store, Stored, Submit Validate, Validated
Rejections, and whose problem they are
The Bureau answers rejections as free-form English with no code to key on. Each one is matched to a dictionary and shown with what it means, which field to fix — and, crucially, whose problem it is:
Owner | What to do |
|---|---|
You | Correct the filing and re-file |
The Bureau | An unlock request has to be raised with Customs. Editing the filing will not help |
e-Konek | Their side. They re-send automatically — do not edit the filing |
That last distinction is the one worth internalising. Several Bureau errors cannot be fixed in the manifest at all, and the instinct to start editing costs an afternoon.
Rejections we have not seen before still show the Bureau's own wording, verbatim.
Each decoded reason also names who should act on it. Some are yours to correct on the form; some are ours to fix in how the manifest is built. When it says ours, send it to support rather than re-filing — a re-file will earn the same rejection.
Gotchas
The house bill number is the Bureau's reference. It must be unique — a repeat is a rejection.
Freight is all-or-nothing. Indicator, amount and currency, or none.
Warehouse location codes are not port codes. The location code is a Bureau warehouse code and is not drawn from the port table; enter the one your customs office gave you.