Customs collections in April short of target

By: Paolo G. Montecillo - 11 years ago

Bureau of Customs (BOC) building INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) missed its collection target for April as revenue growth slowed sharply to less than half of the previous month’s expansion despite a slew of reforms implemented by its new chief.

In a statement Monday, the BOC said revenues were up 13.4 percent to P30.76 billion in April. But the growth rate was less than March’s 34-percent expansion. The BOC was also P5-billion short of its target for the month.

“Revenue growth slowed down in April on account of less number of working days—at 19 versus 21 days in April 2013,” the BOC statement read.

The Bureau also blamed the implementation of the truck ban in Manila, which “affected collections in the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port, the country’s largest customs ports in terms of volume.”

For the January to April period, revenues were up 22 percent year-on-year.