NATIONAL Book Development Board issued guidelines about the Tax- and Duty-Free Importation of paper, an important raw material for book publishing.

This is in anticipation of the expected volume of applications from printers of educational publications for a new set of textbooks and teacher’s manuals that the Department of Education will begin procuring for public school learners for the School Year 2024-2025.

The first procurement is projected to happen during the first half of this year and will be allocated for Grades 1, 4, and 7, and for Senior High School students.

The guidelines are part of the “Interim Guidelines for Book Industry Associations on the Tax- and Duty-Free Importation of Paper for Textbooks and Teacher’s Manuals,” or the “2017 Guidelines,” which was promulgated by the NBDB Governing Board on August 17, 2017.

These will apply for the TADFI of paper to be used exclusively for the printing and publishing of TXs and TMs.

The objective of the guidelines is to encourage more applications from book industry associations duly registered with the NBDB, with at least three members who are bona fide importers in the book supply chain like publishers, printers, and booksellers.

Under Section 3, Rule II of the 2017 Guidelines, “associations shall have the authority to import raw materials for and on behalf of its members, provided that the members to be included are bona fide importers.”

It said that the paper to be imported by the associations should weigh at least 24 metric tons or one full container load. Also, members of associations “with pending transactions for liquidating their TADFI account(s) with the NBDB, which have yet to be initiated after thirty (30) days from the completion of the relevant transaction, shall not be eligible for coursing new TADFI applications.”

The NBDB assures the book industry associations and the public that these guidelines were formulated based on established laws and policies, particularly the Philippine Constitution, Republic Act No. 8047 or the “Book Publishing Industry Development Act,” and Republic Act No. 9184 or the “Government Procurement Reform Act,” among others.

Book industry associations who wish to apply for TADFI should submit the documentary requirements such as NBDB-prescribed forms and other supporting documents electronically to the NBDB’s Online Application Form for Book Industry Associations (via Google Forms), which is easily accessible via https://bit.ly/TADFIApplicationBIA.