Customs, BIR expect to hit ’18 collection goals

The country’s two biggest revenue agencies yesterday said they were expecting to hit their respective 2018 targets as the Bureau of Customs sustained its above-target collections for the eighth consecutive month in September even as the tax take of the Bureau of Internal Revenue slipped in the same month.

In a statement, the BOC said import duties and other taxes it collected last month reached P52.4 billion, 1 percent higher than the P51.9-billion goal.

Its September collection was also 30-percent higher than the P40.3 billion a year ago.

“The continuous improvement in revenue performance is attributed to the increased volume and value of goods (imported) and the higher exchange rate. This was also made possible by the improved and correct valuation and tariff classification being implemented in all ports,” the BOC said.

The latest Philippine Statistics Authority data showed that as of end-July, imports climbed 15.7 percent year-on-year to $61.23 billion. The peso, meanwhile, weakened to almost 13-year lows last month, raising the value of imported goods as well as the amount of import duties levied on them.

In September, only three—Manila International Container Port, Port of Manila and Port of Surigao—out of the country’s 17 ports failed to hit their respective targets.

As of September, the BOC’s collection hit P435.9 billion, up 35 percent year-on-year.

The BOC’s nine-month take also exceeded the P429.6-billion target by 1.5 percent, such that the agency only needed to collect P162.1 billion in the fourth quarter to achieve its full-year goal.

On the other hand, the BIR said preliminary data showed that its tax collections in September amounted to P115.8 billion, down from P141.4 billion a year ago.

However, “the said figure is tentative and is expected to rise when all collections for the month shall have been accounted for in the next two weeks,” the BIR said in a statement also Wednesday.

Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay told reporters on the sidelines of a House hearing that the BIR remained optimistic that it would hit its 2018 target.