MANILA, Philippines — Revenues collected by the Bureau of Customs fell by 6.1 percent compared with a year ago in March, but the haul was enough to beat the agency’s target for the month.
Data released on Wednesday showed Customs raised P75.4 billion in March, lower than the P80.3 billion collected in the same month last year. However, the agency still exceeded its target revenue of P72.9 billion for last month by 3.45 percent.
This brought the bureau’s haul in the first quarter to P219.4 billion, up by 2.6 percent. The year-to-date revenues were also 4.03 percent higher than Customs’ goal of P210.9 billion for the period.
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The agency attributed its performance last month to “higher rate of assessment or enhanced system for determining the customs value of imported goods.”
Customs also said it “boosted its revenue collection through its strict monitoring and collection of deferred payment of government importation.”
“Intensified post-clearance audit also resulted in ensuring compliance to customs laws and collection of rightful duties and taxes from importers,” the bureau added.
Duties paid on imports are Customs’ main source of income. The government forecasts goods imports to grow 7 percent this year before sustaining an 8-percent annual