Customs miss January-September target by P31.71B

MANILA, Philippines – Though higher by 18% compared to the previous year, the Bureau of Customs still failed to reach its target for the first 9 months of 2014 by P31.709 billion ($708.583 million*).

Figures from the BOC showed it collected P264.25 billion ($5.905 billion) from import duties  from January to September – 18% higher compared to collections in the same period in the 2013  of P225.01 ($5.028 billion). It’s September collections are at a record high of P32.87 billion.

However, January to September collections fall short of its P295.96-billion target for the same period.

“We have not done that much on trade facilitation,” Customs Commissioner John Sevilla said at the 40th Philippine Business Conference and Expo on Thursday, October 23.

He lamented before hundreds of business leaders and other guests, including diplomats, how the Customs’ “terrible” IT system is hampering the agency’s workflow in clearing shipments out of ports.

“We have a terrible IT system which faces frequent downtime,” said Sevilla.

He said the BOC is bidding out contracts to upgrade the agency’s clearing process to cut down the clearing process.

“This time next year, 90% of all import transactions will be cleared by Customs within 4 hours of filing,” he said.

The apparent inefficiency of the BOC is one of the issues discussed at the event organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) at the Manila Hotel.

In a joint statement, the PCCI and the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines urged the government to “make transactions faster, more predictable, efficient, and transparent.”

Asa Larsson, DHL’s Southeast Asia senior director for corporate public policy, said the BOC could streamline its clearing procedures by eliminating paper transactions.

“A revised Customs law should include simplification and automation,” she said.

Ten ports across the country failed to meet collection targets, with the Port of Manila reporting biggest gap of P17.82 billion, followed by the Manila International Container Port at P14.79 billion, and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at P5.85 billion.

President Benigno Aquino III had cited the BOC in his 2014 State of the Nation Address for its increased cash collections of 22% for P117 billion from January to April 2014.

Sevilla admitted that the agency needs to catch up, and by next year, he vowed that there would be a more “streamlined and predictable” BOC.

“As of today, it is not and we accept that,” he said. – Rappler.com

*$1=P44.75