Customs’ November tax take drops 7%

THE BUREAU of Customs’ collections of import duties and other taxes slid in November mainly due to the holidays declared during the country’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ meetings.

Preliminary data released by the bureau Wednesday showed that it had collected P29.1 billion last month, down by 6.9 percent from the P31.2-billion take a year ago.

Collections in November were also 27.4-percent short of the P40-billion target set by the government for the month.

“Despite expediting customs services several weeks before the Apec meetings, limited port activity had severely affected revenues. Truck bans, road closures and traffic rerouting schemes within the ports’ perimeters further pulled down the daily average collection from P2 billion to as low as P50 million,” the BOC noted.

Air as well as sea ports in Metro Manila, where the meetings were held, were open during the week-long Apec Summit.

“Special non-working holidays imposed in Metro Manila on Nov. 18 and 19 resulted in closed banks, further limiting business transactions at the ports,” the added.

Also, the BOC said the total value of imports in November declined by 7.2 percent year-on-year on the back of cheaper global oil prices, even as the volume of imported goods that entered the country that month rose by 12.8 percent.

The volume of non-oil shipments from abroad increased by 19.4 percent in November, but revenue grew by only 1.7 percent year-on-year as their value dipped by 0.8 percent.

As for oil products, the value and volume dropped by 47.2 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively, last month, dragging down revenue by 37.9 percent year-on-year to P4.2 billion.

Based on preliminary figures, the bureau’s 11-month haul totaled P329.8 billion, lower than last year’s P331.2 billion as well as below the P397.2-billion target for the period.