The Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced on Wednesday that its total revenue collections as of mid-May rose by 7 percent year-on-year to P330.27 billion, bolstering the agency’s confidence that it could raise P1 trillion this year.
Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio announced the figures in an Executive Committee meeting with Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) last May 15.
The preliminary report showed that the total revenues further exceeded the BOC’s target of collecting P317.87 billion by 3.9 percent, or P12.41 billion, the BOC added.
Rubio also reported to the Finance chief its first-quarter report on the volume of imports, including oil and non-oil commodities, according to the BOC. The BOC seized an estimated P28.02 billion worth of goods smuggled to the country from January to April this year. The agency attributed this to its “enhanced” border protection.
This is the result of 132 apprehensions conducted by the BOC, intercepting general merchandise, counterfeit goods, cigarettes and tobacco, and various illegal drugs discovered at different ports in the country.
Meanwhile, the BOC marked a total of 7.01 billion liters of fuel as of mid-May under its fuel marking program to ensure that oil products sold in the market are tax-compliant.
According to the BOC, the bureau marked fuel worth P908.52 billion since the program from September 4, 2019 to May 9, 2024.
The BOC also provided updates to the Department of Finance (DOF) on the Philippines Customs Modernization Project (PCMP), detailing its meetings with the World Bank, and the next steps for the initiative, including the progress on value-added tax refund applications.
During the Execom, the BOC said it acknowledged the importance of its efforts in ensuring the financial stability and security of the nation and underscored that it will continue to boost its operations and strategies to reach these objectives.
“The BOC remains committed to contributing to DOF’s goal of fostering national socio-economic growth by collecting additional revenue for our fellow Filipino people and guarding the country’s borders,” Rubio said in a statement during the meeting.
The DOF aims to raise P4.3 trillion in revenues this year. Despite the lofty goal, the BIR and BOC will stick to its target of raising P3.05 trillion and P1 trillion, respectively, as ordered by Recto.
The BIR has collected P912.9 billion in revenues in the first quarter of 2024, up by 16.3 percent from the same period last year.
“We’re keeping with the targets [and] will make [a] review by end-June,” Recto told reporters in a Viber message.
Image credits: BusinessMirror file photo
