Rey Leonardo Guerrero
MANILA, Philippines—Import duties and other taxes collected by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from January to October rose to P525.4 billion as a result of improved trade flow and post-clearance audits to generate correct revenues.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero told the House committee on public accounts on Monday (Nov. 23) that the BOC’s end-October collections not only exceeded by 2.4 percent its P513.2-billion target for the 10-month period, but also grew 17.1 percent from P448.6 billion in 2020.
However, government data showed that the BOC’s year-to-date collections remained below its take also in October 2019 which reached P527.7 billion prior to the pandemic.
The BOC had been tasked with collecting P616.7 billion in tax revenues this year, a goal which Guerrero had expressed confidence will be attainable. In 2020, the BOC’s collections fell to P537 billion from P630.3 billion in 2019 due to COVID-19 lockdowns worldwide which weakened international trade.
Guerrero said the BOC’s ongoing programs, like fuel marking, helped the agency surpass its revenue targets.
For instance, the fuel marking program allowed the BOC to generate a cumulative P312 billion in correct excise from imported oil products for over two years now, Guerrero said. The BOC chief said revenues from fuel imports accounted for about 30 percent of yearly Customs take.
Also, Guerrero said the BOC has intensified its post-audit clearance of importers, leading to an additional P1.4 billion eked out during the first 10 months.
The BOC was also active in combating smuggling which had been depriving the government of revenues—it confiscated P23-billion worth of smuggled items as of end-October, higher than full-year seizures worth P20.6 billion and P10.6 billion in 2019 and 2020.
The BOC also haled more tax evaders to court, with 87 cases lodged at the Department of Justice (DOJ), up from the 74 in 2020, covering P695.1-million worth of dutiable yet smuggled goods.
The BOC likewise revoked the accreditation of 590 erring importers and 191 customs brokers as of October—bigger than in previous years, while it also investigated, reprimanded and dismissed thousands of errant employees.
Guerrero also pointed to gains in facilitating efficient trade, citing that the Philippines scored 86.02 percent—the third highest in Asean—in the 2021 United Nations (UN) global survey on digital and sustainable trade facilitation report. The Philippines further improved its score from 80.65 percent in 2019, 69.89 percent in 2017, and 65.59 percent in 2015, he noted.
It also helped that four-fifths—or 128 out of 159—customs processes were already automated, the BOC chief said.