BOC chief notes jump in collections

The Bureau of Customs said its collection performance rebounded in August and September after registering below-target contributions to state coffers in the previous months.

Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon said the improved collection performance followed the new performance-enhancement measures at the agency, which has been battered by a culture of corruption.

He added that the recent appointment of new deputy commissioners in the agency could help it sustain the nascent recovery in revenue collection, which had been dragged by long-standing problem of smuggling.

Citing preliminary figures, Biazon said cumulative collections by the BOC in January to September rose 4.8 percent year-on-year.

The BOC collected P213.66 billion in the first nine months of 2012, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

“Year-to-date growth in collection has improved and is already 4.8 percent,” Biazon told reporters when asked about the BOC’s revenue performance as of September.

The growth rate in collections as of September was faster than the 3 percent registered as of July.

The Department of Finance (DOF), head agency of the BOC, will release the latest official figures on revenues and expenditures of the national government next week.

Biazon said the rebound was more remarkable in September when collections grew by at least 10 percent from a year ago.

“We posted a double-digit growth in collections last month. We are optimistic we are bouncing back [from the poor performance in the earlier months of the year],” Biazon said.

Biazon said, however, that administrative measures were not the only factors affecting collections. He said factors beyond the BOC’s control such as the weaker-than-expected imports and declining import duties could still dampen the agency’s ability to meet the full-year target.

The BOC has been tasked to collect P340 billion this year, up 20 percent from its collection last year.

Based on the latest official data from the DOF, the BOC collected P172.81 billion from January to July, up year-on-year by 3 percent.