Customs misses collection target in January

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Customs said Friday, March 21 it did not meet its collection target for January.

Its collections however grew by double digits from last year’s figure, thanks to a series of reforms implemented in the agency.

In a statement, BOC said its revenue collections reached P29.799 billion in the first month of the year, 4.8% below its goal of P31.307 billion, but 21% higher than the P24.54 billion it generated in January 2013.

Customs Commissioner John Sevilla said the reforms that the Aquino administration put in place have started to bear fruit.

“Although there is still much room for improvement, the numbers prove that the President’s Customs Reform Program has considerably enhanced the growth trajectory of our collections,” he said. “As we continue to plug loopholes, implement measures that boost compliance of our importers… and go after smugglers, we aim to sustain the… growth momentum.”

The Customs chief however warned that collections in the preceding months would be affected by the truck ban in the city of Manila, which has seen a decline in shipments at ports.

Manila implemented starting February 24 a daytime ban on trucks and other vehicles with gross weights above 4,500 kilograms. Trucks are banned from entering the city and plying its streets from 5 am to 9 pm, with a window period from 10 am to 3 pm.

Traders are opposing the ban, saying it has affected their shipments and would force many of them to close shops.

The ban has forced truckers using the Manila ports to divert their shipments to the Batangas and Subic ports. 

Sevilla said they expect port collections to continue to soften in February. “Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor and extend assistance to the transacting public to ensure that the revenue momentum we have started continues in the coming months.”

BOC is tasked to collect P30.184 billion in February and P33.286 billion in March. For the entire 2014, the agency is tasked to collect P408.1 billion, representing about 22% of total revenues of national government. – Rappler.com