There are car models abroad that you just can’t find here locally. Luckily, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has made the process if importing seond-hand cars easier.

By making the application  for Certificate of Authority to Import (CAI) available online, DTI just made second-hand vehicle importation more easier and accessible. 

However, this doesn’t mean you should still consider this option as they are still highly restricted and heavily taxed. This move by DTI only benefits the qualified individuals — returning residents, immigrants, and officials of the Diplomatic Corps. In addition, it will also benefit importers of trucks, buses (with specific gross vehicle weight requirements), and special-purpose vehicles. 

“Our shift to online transactions is in line with the government initiative on Ease of Doing Business and Government Service Act of 2018 which aims to streamline frontline procedures and reduce the processing time on securing permits and licenses in the government,” said DTI – Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Atty. Ruth B. Castelo.

Certificate of Authority to Import (CAI)  is a requirement under Executive Order (EO) No. 156, which also prohibits the selling of the specific vehicle within three years. 

With the application now available online, the whole process, including the initial assessment by the DTI-Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau, the review of the Import Regulation Division Chief, and the final evaluation by the DTI-FTEB Director, will take only one to two days at the most. 

“We are proud to say that going digital made our operations more efficient and it is taking us further towards achieving our goal on customer delight because our Import Regulation Division (IRD), the division that administers CAI applications, received a 98.81% Client Satisfaction Rating (CSF) last year,” DTI – CPG Assistant Secretary and Concurrent FTEB Director Ronnel O. Abrenica underscored.