Republic Act No. 426

As used in this Act:

There is hereby created an Import Control Board composed of three members who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments and shall hold office for two years, one of whom shall be designated as Chairman by the President. One member shall represent the Central Bank; one, the businessmen; and one, the consumers: Provided, That with the exception of the member representing the Central Bank, no other member shall be connected with the Government or any of its agencies, instrumentalities or corporations owned or controlled by it.

The two members of the Board not representing the Central Bank shall each receive a per diem compensation at the rate of twenty-five pesos for every meeting attended, but the total of which per diems for the whole year shall not exceed six thousand pesos for each member.

The Import Control Board shall:

In order to provide for the proper administrative machinery in carrying out the policies, rulings, orders or opinions of the Import Control Board as well as the provisions of this Act, there is hereby created the Import Control Administration whose chief shall be known as Commissioner and who shall have the following powers:

Any person desiring to import any article, goods or commodities into the Philippines shall file an application for a corresponding quota allocation and license with the Import Control Administration. For old importers, the application shall be executed under oath and shall contain, among others, their name, address, nationality, stock on hand of the goods applied, the amount of their importation in the years nineteen forty-six, nineteen forty-seven and nineteen forty-eight of the articles, goods or commodities applied for; and if a new importer, his application shall contain a statement of his actual financial resources to finance the importation of the goods applied for.

No person, corporation or association shall import any article, goods or commodity into the Philippines without a proper import license issued for said purpose in accordance with this Act. Any importation or order to import any articles, goods or commodities under control under the old Import Control Law between April thirty, nineteen fifty and the date of the approval of this Act shall be considered illegal unless such order or importation was duly approved by the Import Control Board.

Import quotas shall be fixed by the Import Control Board in accordance with the following schedule of percentages:

The following imports shall be admitted without import quota allocation:

No item of import not enumerated in the appendices of this Act shall be allowed an import license and exchange cover in excess of its imports value (C.I.F.) for the year nineteen hundred forty-eight except agricultural machineries and equipment and other machinery, materials and equipment for dollar-producing and dollar- saving industries.

For the purpose of fixing the import quota for each article, goods or commodity, the average annual C.I.F. value thereof for the year nineteen hundred forty-six, nineteen hundred forty-seven and nineteen hundred forty-eight shall be used as basis.

Within thirty days after the Import Control Board as herein provided shall have fixed the import quota for each item of import, any importer desiring to import any such item may file an application with the Commissioner for an allocation of a portion of said import quota. Any ruling or resolution of the Import Control Board as provided in Republic Act Numbered Three hundred thirty to the contrary notwithstanding, the applicants may file their application within forty-five days after the approval of this Act.

The portion of the import quotas available for old importers shall be allocated by the Commissioner among them in proportion to the annual average amount of their importation of the articles and on the evidence of the sales tax actually paid by them corresponding to the years nineteen hundred forty-six, nineteen hundred forty-seven and nineteen hundred forty-eight. The importer's tax receipts corresponding to any particular article, goods or commodity being certification under oath and other documentary evidence shall be used as the principal basis for determining the value of the previous imports of such importers: Provided, That no importer shall be allowed more than thirty per centum of the total import quota for any item except when such limitation may, in the opinion of the Import Control Board, be detrimental to public interest. Allocation for importers who imported during a fraction only of the year nineteen hundred forty-six, nineteen hundred forty-seven and/or nineteen hundred forty-eight shall be computed on the basis of the ratio which said fraction of the year bears to the whole year.

In determining the allocation of import quota among old and new importers, all Government agencies importing any particular article, goods or commodity shall be included and considered as private importers and in such cases the value of their respective imports may be based on documentary evidence other than tax receipts.

The Board shall reserve thirty per centum of the total import quota for any articles, goods or commodities for the fiscal year nineteen hundred fifty and nineteen hundred fifty-one, forty per centum for the fiscal year nineteen hundred fifty-one and nineteen hundred fifty-two, and fifty per centum for the fiscal year nineteen hundred fifty-two and nineteen hundred fifty-three in favor of bona fide new importers who did not import such items at any time during the years nineteen hundred forty-six, nineteen hundred forty-seven and nineteen hundred forty-eight. To qualify as new importer, one must be a Filipino citizen or a juridical entity at least sixty per centum of whose stock is owned by Filipino citizens. After the total number of new importers has been determined, the portion of the import quota herein reserved shall be allocated proportionately among them on the basis of financial capacity and business standing of the applicant: Provided, That said applicant has been duly licensed to engage in a business and industry and has an established place of business or cooperative association organized under Commonwealth Act Numbered Five hundred sixty-five known as the National Cooperative Act. Should there be no such new applicants or should the said reserve portion be not entirely covered by new applicants, the said reserved portion of the import quota or any balance thereof shall be allocated among the rest of the importers: Provided, further, That nothing contained in this section shall in any way impair or abridge the rights granted to citizens and juridical entities of the United States of America under the Executive Agreement signed on July fourth, nineteen hundred forty-six, between that country and the Republic of the Philippines.

Any existing law, executive order or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, no Government, office, agency, or instrumentality, except the Import Control Commissioner, shall allocate the import quota among the various importers: Provided, That the Philippine Rehabilitation and Trade Relief Administration shall have exclusive power and authority to determine and regulate the allocation of wheat flour, among importers.

Quota allocations of any importer for any particular article, including wheat flour, shall not be transferable. It shall be illegal to cede, transfer, sell, rent, lease or donate, his or its import quota allocation or license, either directly or indirectly or by use of any simulation, strategy or scheme, to persons or entities not entitled to import quota under the provisions of this Act, and any violation thereof shall be punishable with the forfeiture by the Commissioner of the import quota or license of the erring party without prejudice to his subjection to the penal provisions of this Act.

If the Commissioner, after a thorough investigation is satisfied that an application for quota allocation or license is in order and that the applicant has complied with all the requirements provided in this Act and the rules and regulations issued thereunder, he shall approve it and issue the corresponding import license: Provided, however, That no application shall remain pending in the office of the Import Control Administration for a period longer than sixty days, otherwise, the Commissioner shall be made to account to the Import Control Board for the delay, and failure to give satisfactory explanation shall be ground for dismissal or any other appropriate administrative action. Applications for quota allocations shall be numbered correlatively, based on the chronological order of their filing showing the date and hour each application was filed. No application shall be acted upon unless action has been taken upon other applications previously filed thereto. Applications for quota allocations shall be stamped with the date and hour when it was filed and a corresponding receipt shall be issued to the applicant thereof showing the number of the application, the date and hour of filing, pursuant to the provisions of this section: Provided, moreover, That all import quota allocations and licenses pending at the time of the approval of this Act shall be considered new applications in the light of the provisions of this section.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank shall certify to the Import Control Board from time to time the amount of exchange available for any specified period for import purposes. The Commissioner shall not issue any import license when the value involved in such importation exceeds the balance of the total foreign exchange available for that period as certified to by the Central Bank.

Upon presentation of an import license duly issued by the Commissioner, the Central Bank shall issue to the holder thereof the corresponding exchange cover.

When the foreign exchange available cannot cover all the applications for importation, the Import Control Board shall reduce proportionately the foreign exchange available among the import license holders.

Any violation of the provisions of this Act or any rules and regulations issued thereunder shall be punished by a fine of not less than five thousand pesos nor more than fifty thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for not less than two years nor more than five years, or by both, such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the Court: Provided, That in the case of aliens, the penalty shall consist of payment of fine and immediate deportation without the necessity of any further proceedings on the part of the Deportation Board: Provided, further, That if the violation is committed by the manager, representative, director, agent or employee of any natural or juridical person in the interest of the latter such violation shall render said natural or juridical person amenable to the penalties corresponding to the offense, without prejudice to the imposition of the proper penalty, either personal or pecuniary, or both, upon the manager, representative, director, agent, or employee: Provided, further, That any officer or employee of the Import Control Board and Import Control Administration violating any provision of this Act or rules and regulations issued in pursuance of this law shall be summarily dismissed without prejudice to the filing of criminal action against him: Provided, further, That juridical persons shall be amenable only to the fine penalty: Provided, further, That in case of any violation committed in the interest of a foreign juridical person duly licensed to engage in business in the Philippines by its manager, representative, director or agent, such violation shall be sufficient cause for the immediate revocation of such license: And provided, lastly, That articles, goods, or commodities imported in violation of this Act shall be subject to forfeiture in accordance with the procedure established in article eighteen, Chapter thirty-nine of the Revised Administrative Code, and under no circumstances or conditions may the goods be released to the importer thereof: Provided, finally, That any official or employee of the three aforementioned agencies who shall be found guilty of violating articles two hundred ten and two hundred eleven of the Revised Penal Code on bribery, shall suffer not only the penalties provided for in those two articles but also the penalties provided for under this section, and shall further suffer perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

Any importer who orders to import or imports any article, goods or commodity without first securing an import license therefor in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall be disqualified to do business in the Philippines and his license shall be withdrawn by the Collector of Internal Revenue.

No member of the Import Control Board nor any officer of the Central Bank or the Import Control Administration shall directly or indirectly be financially interested in any importation business, nor shall he engage himself in the importation of goods subject to the restrictions provided for in this Act.

Any official or employee of the Import Control Board, or the Import Control Administration, or the Central Bank who aids any person or entity in the violation or circumvention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rules or regulations issued thereunder shall, upon conviction, be subject to the same penalty hereinabove provided and be disqualified perpetually from holding any public office.

The sum of seven hundred fifty thousand pesos annually, or so much thereof as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, and until Congress provides otherwise, is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expenses of the Import Control Board and the Import Control Administration.

Any act or executive order, rules or regulations whose provisions are contrary to or in contravention with any provisions of this Act are hereby repealed. Any section or provision of this Act that may be declared unconstitutional by a competent court, shall not affect the remaining provisions thereof.

The Import Control Board shall, as soon as possible and in no case exceeding sixty days, fix all the import quotas of all items of imports as provided for in this Act; meantime, all the existing quotas and allocations as well as rules and regulations on import control shall continue until revised or repealed, and the Members of the Import Control Board and the Import Control Commission shall remain in office until the President has appointed their successors.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: May 19, 1950

APPENDIX "A" (Controlled Prime Imports)

Corned beef Meat, fresh, chilled or frozen: Beef and veal Chicken and guineas Ducks and geese Other poultry and games Liver, kidney, hearts, tongues, tripes, etc. Mutton and Lamb Pork Turkey Other meats Household remedies: Any drug, mixture of drugs, galenic or officinal preparation of common or ordinary use, sold without medical prescription in original packages, bottles or containers, the nomenclature whereof is determined by the Board. Proprietary medicine: Any drug, preparation or mixture of drugs marketed under a trade name and intended for the cure, mitigation or prevention of disease in man or animals. Oats, rolled Oatmeal Talcum powder, unperfumed Spices: Cinnamon Mustard Nutmeg Pepper (Paprika) Pimentoes Saffron All other spices Rubber boots and rubber shoes Tiki-tiki Used clothing Incandescent lamps Jute and other fibers: Bags Burlaps and baggings Cordage Oakum Threads and twines Others APPENDIX "B" (Controlled Essential Imports)

Bottles, vials, jars, etc. Butter Cheese Clay dishes and other tableware and earthern stonewares Cacao: Beans - Manufactured, powdered, sweetened or unsweetened Coffee: Raw or green Ground or as candy Cotton textiles at prices not exceeding P1 per meter Cotton knitted underwear for men at not more than P1 a piece Cotton underwear for women at not more than P2 per piece Silk textiles at prices not exceeding P2.50 per meter Rayon textiles at prices not exceeding P1.50 per meter Other textiles at prices not exceeding P2 per meter Remnants and rummage of cotton flax, linen, nylon, wool, silk, or rayon Bread Dentifrices Electrical batteries, storage or wet Extracts, flavors and syrups Fish nets Fresh fruits: Apples and grapes Oranges Litchi Lemons Fountain pens below P5 Nails, common wire and finishing from size 1" to 5", inclusive Hams and shoulders Onions, fresh Pencils, mechanical below P5 Radios, below P100 Radio phonographs below P300 Refrigerator Tea Thermos and vacuum bottles Commercial or industrial explosives Sulphuric acid Paints Coke Cotton and rayon yarns APPENDIX "C" (Controlled Nonessential Imports) Bicycles Bakery products: Biscuits Cakes Pudding Breakfast foods and preparations except oats and infant foods Corn, canned or popped Cotton manufactures: Cloths Fabrics except umbrella fabrics Khaki fabrics Ready-made wearing apparel outer or inner Eggs in shell, fresh or salted Fish and fish products: Fresh - Headdock and halibut Other fresh fish Shell fish Canned goods - Abalone Anchovies Crabs and crabmeats Cuttlefish (squid) Clams Herring Mackerel Oysters Roe Shrimps Tuna and bonito Sauces fish Canned shellfish All other canned fish Dried, smoked, salted or cured, except: Salmon and sardines - Anchovies Bechedemer (trepang) Codfish Cuttlefish (squid) Haddock Herring Sharksfin Shrimps Other shell fish Other dried fish Electric fans and irons Electric stoves and ranges Flourescent lamps: 14-Watt T12 15-Watt T12 15-Watt T 8 20-Watt T12 30-Watt T 8 40-Watt T12 Flour, all kinds, except wheat flour Fruits and preparations: Canned - Apples Apricots Cherries Fruit salads (mixed fruits) Grapes Lemon Litchi Oranges Peaches Pears Pineapples Plums Pomelos and grapefruit Prunes Strawberries Other berries All other canned fruits Dried and otherwise preserved - Dates Figs Prunes Raisins Other dried fruits Miscellaneous fruit preparations - Jams, jellies and marmalades Paste fruits Pickled Olives Sauces, fruit Garlic Ginger Glass tableware Gelatin Ice cream freezers and hardeners Jeeps and station wagons Matches Meat products: Canned meat, except corned beef - Bacon Beef except corned beef Devilled meat - Ham Meat paste and spread Pork Soups, consomme and chowder Poultry and game Sausages Other canned meat Dried, smoked, cured or pickled except hams and shoulders Bacon Beef Poultry and game Sausages other dried, smoked, cured or pickled meat Musical instruments, brass band or orchestra Macaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli, noodles Organs and harmonious below P1,200 Paper and paper manufacturers: Writing board and tablet paper Albums Post cards Kraft paper, paper bags, Manila paper and other wrapping papers Paper clips Phonograph records except master records Pianos and pianolas below P1,200 Potatoes, Irish Prepared bread, cake or pastry mixes Ramie, flax, linen, and rayon fabrics, knitted or otherwise Shoes and boots Silk manufactures except yarns and threads Starches (corn, tapioca and potato) except industrial starch Tobacco and manufacturers: Cigarettes Cigars Snuff and chewing tobacco Prepared tobacco (smoking) Other manufactured tobacco Leaf tobacco Stems and scrap tobacco Table and kitchen utensils, enamelled or cast iron Tablewares except table cutlery Textile and manufacturers of flax and linen Other enamelled wares Watches and clocks below P10 Water coolers Floor wax Wool or cotton wastes APPENDIX "D" (Controlled Luxury Imports) Air conditioning equipment Alcohol, denatured Asbestos shingles, roofing, sideboards, tiles and pipes Animals except for working, breeding or dairy purposes Animal fat, and oil, edible: Lard compound and substitutes Oleomargarine All others Animal products, inedible: Leather manufactures Bags, travelling Belts Horns, ivory and boxes Sandals and slippers with canvass tops Garments Harness and saddles Pocketbooks, purses, wallets and handbags Welting leather Other leather manufacturers Other inedible animal products: Feather downs Shell manufacturers Ashtrays of whatever kind or material Asphalt tiles Automobiles, and passenger cars except unassembled, spare parts and accessories Beauty parlor equipment Beads and other decorative articles Bird cages Bird nests Bus bodies Blackboard chalks Cameras and accessories except 31/3 by 41/4 cameras or larger and professional accessories Candles Cement (Portland) and manufacturers Chewing gum Celluloid and manufacturers: Belts Frames and mountings, eyeglass Sheets and stripes Other, except buttons Chandeliers with outlets exceeding one light Cloth rompers Coat hangers Combs Commercial hydrochloric acid Electric egg beater, mixer, fruit squeezers, floor and table lamps Face powder including perfumed talc Electric beaters Fresh fruits: Cherries Peaches Pears Plums Pomelos and grapefruits Strawberries Other berries All other fresh fruits Sporting explosives, fireworks, firearms and ammunition Furs and manufacturers Gold, platinum and silver Hats Ice cream, ice cream powder mix and preparations with sugar added Jardinieres, flower pots and other decorative objects Jewelries, precious metals and stones Juke boxes Liquors, wines and beverages including beer and cider: Distilled spirits Alcohol, ethyl Brandy Cordials Gin Rum Others (blackberry, ginger, etc.) Whiskey - Corn (Bourbon) Malt (Scotch) Rye All other whiskeys Wines - Sparkling Other wines Ginger ale and non-alcoholic beverages Lighters for cigarettes and cigars Linoleum Ladies hand fans Lamp shades Manicure instruments Manufacturers of horn, ivory and bone Mattresses of all kinds Mechanical pencils, fountain pens and desk writing sets above P5 Metal chairs, desks and furniture for home, for office, except medical, dental and hospital equipment Milk in any form with sugar added except condensed and those for infant feeding Motorboats and cutboard motors, except those for commercial purposes Motion pictures projectors and their accessories Non-motorized carriages, go-carts, velocipedes, and other children's vehicles Nylon, silk, wool synthetic fabrics and manufactures except yarns and threads Nuts and preparations: Almonds Chestnuts Peanuts Walnuts Others Organs and harmonious above P1,200 Ornamental articles of any materials Phonographs Plastic products Perfumes, toilet soaps and other toilet preparations: Face powder, including perfumed talc Cream and balms Lotion Pomade and brilliantine Rouge and lipstick Shaving creams, cakes and sticks Other toilet preparations Plate, glass Platewares, gold or silver Playing cards Radio above P100 Radio phonographs above P300 Sporting goods: Fishing rods and tackles Air rifles Bowling alleys, billiard pool and other similar tables and equipment Tennis rackets Guts for tennis rackets All other sporting goods Rubber and manufacturers: Balloons Belts Combs Garments Sheets, crude Soles, inner Soles, outer Shoes, rubber with canvass tops Ropes and twines Sailing vessels, except those for commercial purposes Salt, crude Silk screen posters for advertising purposes Shells and manufacturers Straws, rushes, palm leaf and manufacturers Sugar, molasses, syrups, sweets and candies Toys of any material, games and amusements Vacuum cleaners Vegetables and preparations: Oils and fats Salad dressings, mayonnaise Fresh vegetables - Asparagus Beets Cabbages Carrots Cauliflowers Celery Lettuce Others Canned - Asparagus Bamboo sprouts Beets Cabbages Carrots Cauliflowers Corn Mushrooms Peas, chick (garbanzos) Peas, sweet Pimentoes Tomatoes All others Dried and otherwise preserved Tomato and other vegetable juices Soybean paste (miso) Pickled vegetables Sauces Soup, vegetable Soybean powder Vegetable paste and mixtures of meat Vinegar Watches, and docks above P10 except time recording devices Wood, bamboo, rattan, reeds and manufacturers Wall paper Wall and floor tiles except white glazed tiles Waste baskets