MANILA -The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has collected P764.68 billion as of Nov. 10 this year, slightly exceeding its collection goal for the period on the back of recovering trade and improved customers operations.
During a presentation at a forum organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in Makati, Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said that their collections during the covered period outpaced their P744.57 billion target by 2.7 percent, or by P20.12 billion.
“This achievement can be attributed to increased trade activities, enhanced customs operations and our reinforced efforts to improve lawful revenue collection,” Rubio said.
In its annual report for 2022, the BOC said collections during the entirety of that year totaled P862.929 billion based on a preliminary report, a 34.9-percent increase compared to the P643.562 billion collected in the previous year.
Its collection last year also exceeded the full-year goal of P721.52 billion, as well as that of prepandemic levels, which was P630.31 billion back in 2019.
In 2021, the BOC’s collections stood at P643.562 billion, while its 2020 collection amounted to P539.660 billion.
Rubio also highlighted during the event that BOC was able to seize P41.90 billion worth of illicit goods during the same period, which he characterized as a record haul for the agency.
He attributed this to the government agency’s “strengthened antismuggling campaign,” adding that most of the seized contraband were counterfeit goods, which include apparel, shoes and bags.
Earlier in January, the BOC said that a total of P24.28 billion worth of smuggled goods were seized in 2022. INQ