Customs’ January collections exceed target

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Tuesday said its revenue collections surpassed its target for January 2024.

Citing preliminary reports, the BOC said collections during the month reached P73.329 billion, which was 2.16 percent higher than the target of P71.799 billion.

“The revenue collected in 2024 exceeded the previous year’s figures by P2.738 billion, or 3.88 percent,” said the BOC in a statement.

For full-year 2023,  the BOC’s revenue collection hit P883.62 billion, breaching the goal for the year of  P874.166 billion.

The bureau attributed the revenue growth to “its improved system of determining the customs value of imported goods, strengthened border protection, and concrete trade facilitation efforts.”

Meanwhile, Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio commended the BOC collection districts for the overall revenue performance of the agency.

READ: Customs confident of hitting P1-trillion collection goal in 2024

According to Rubio, success in revenue collection during the first month of 2024 sets a positive precedent for the year ahead, adding that the BOC “is geared up for intensified efforts in 2024.”

“We are committed to working twice as hard to ensure that we not only meet but exceed our year-end revenue target,” said Rubio. With a report from Adrian Parungao