The Bureau of Customs posted a double-digit collections growth in November but still fell short of its target for the month.
In a statement, the BOC reported that import duties and taxes it collected in November amounted to P28.25 billion—up by 19 percent year on year.
But its take for the month was still 9 percent short of the P31.06-billion goal set by the Department of Finance.
Counting its revenue performance in November, the BOC’s collections in the first 11 months of the year amounted to P280.74 billion—6 percent higher than the P264.34 billion it registered in the same period last year.
But the figure was still 10 percent short of the goal set for the period.
The BOC was originally tasked to collect P340 billion for the entire year. But because it has been falling short of its monthly targets, the Customs bureau has been assigned a fighting target of P300 billion.
The bureau is now headed by Customs Commissioner John Sevilla, who served as finance undersecretary for privatization prior to his appointment.
Sevilla replaced Rufino Biazon, who resigned amid allegations of his involvement in the pork barrel scam when he was still a congressman.
During his state of the nation address in July, President Aquino said his administration would implement reforms in the customs bureau and stamp out its culture of corruption.
The Philippine government reportedly loses about P200 billion in potential revenue a year due to smuggling.
The bureau is the second-biggest revenue earner among the government’s line agencies next to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
This year, the BIR has been tasked to collect P1.25 trillion in taxes.
The government aims to shore up collections so it can boost spending for social services and infrastructure.
At less than 3 percent of gross domestic product, public infrastructure spending in the Philippines is lower than that of most neighboring countries.
Average public infrastructure spending in Southeast Asia stands at 5 percent of GDP.