BOC exceeds April collection goal

MANILA, Philippines–The Bureau of Customs (BOC) in April breached again its target collection of import duties and other taxes as revenues amounted P53.3 billion.

In a statement Friday, the BOC said last month’s actual collections surpassed by 3.3 percent its P51.6-billion goal, citing the latest preliminary report of its financial service.

The April revenues of the country’s second biggest tax-collection agency also jumped 14 percent from P46.8 billion a year ago.

Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero attributed the improved collections to the BOC’s “stringent monitoring and continuing efforts to enhance our revenue-collection capabilities.”

Guerrero added that the BOC’s higher revenues was “the result of its intensified control measures against undervaluation, misdeclaration and other forms of technical smuggling.”

“I have given all the district collectors a stern order to closely monitor all the transactions in their respective ports to ensure that the correct duties and taxes are being paid and that customs laws, rules and regulations are being followed,” the Customs chief said.

As such, Guerrero commended “the collective efforts of the 17 collection districts for their unwavering support, commitment and dedication to service,” even as only 12 achieved their respective targets for the month.

The 12 ports that overshoot revenue targets included those in Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Limay, San Fernando, Subic, Tacloban, Zamboanga as well as Manila International Container Port and Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

As such, the five underperforming ports in terms of collections last month were the ports of Aparri, Batangas, Clark, Manila and Surigao, based on preliminary BOC data. /jpv