Customs misses July revenue goal

MANILA, Philippines – Collections by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in July grew from the previous year on higher imports, but still fell below the target for the month.

In a statement on Monday, September 1, the BOC said it collected P30.46 billion in July, up 9% from the P27.95 billion it collected in the same month last year, but short of its P35-billion goal for the month.

This brought its total collections for the first 7 months to P203.86 billion, up 18% from P173.08 billion last year, but below the target of P233.96 billion.

The BOC said it booked an annual increase in July despite operational disruptions brought by Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun) and congestion at the Manila ports, the country’s largest. It attributed the growth to higher volume of imports and improvements in their valuation.

It said petroleum imports accounted for 17% of its revenues in July, while motor vehicles accounted for 15%. Other drivers of revenue growth were food; iron and steel; as well as electrical machinery and equipment.

The BOC reported that majority of ports saw marked improvement in annual revenue collections two months ago. Revenues from Luzon ports, which include Batangas, Subic and Limay, grew an average 26%, while those in the Visayas and Mindanao posted average growth of 18% and 11%, respectively.

For August, the bureau is tasked to collect P33.5 billion. – Rappler.com