Customs exceeds target for 1st 5 mos

Customs revenues during the first five months of the year surpassed the targets of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) due to the combined effect of the peso depreciation, a slight increase in imports and the aggressive collection of Customs duties.

Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo revealed that based on preliminary May results, the agency exceeded its target of P8.615 billion and collected P188 million more to reach a total monthly collection of P8.803 billion.

According to Bernardo, the BOC’s performance in May alone was 2.2 percent above its target as the BOC launched an aggressive duties collection campaign that plugged a number of administrative loopholes.

Bernardo began cracking down on systemic smuggling operations that have been exploiting various BOC programs, particularly its bonded warehousing system.

The crackdown has led to the closure of over a thousand customs bonded warehouses and the suspension of warehousing privileges of several hundred importers.

The incremental revenues from plugging these leaks, according to Bernardo, continued to contribute significantly to the overall increase in BOC collection.

The depreciation of the peso also increased the peso value of imported goods but as the exchange rate stabilized after the US-Iraq war, the value of imports also stabilized.

Bernardo reported that for the period January to May, the BOC’s cumulative collection amounted to P44.337 billion, about P5.096 billion or 13 percent over the P39.241 billion target.

On a year-on-year basis, Bernardo said the BOC was 20.6 percent over its 2002 collection record over the same period, an increase of about P7.56 billion compared to its revenues in January to May 2002.

The BOC is still cleaning up its bonded warehouse, facilities that were originally intended for use by exporters as part of incentives offered by the government. The facilities are used to store tax- and duty-free raw materials bought by exporters from abroad who use them to manufacture goods for re-export.

Bernardo said most of the bonded warehouses he had ordered closed were classified as inactive even as they continued to maintain their warehouse facilities.

Bernardo said this was the primary indication that some facilities were being used for undeclared activities like smuggling.

"Their principal facilities can still be used for smuggling so we ordered them closed," he said. "Some are inactive only on paper," he added, noting that some are known to actively participate in smuggling.

The Customs chief said their closure does not prevent the BOC from recovering outstanding tax liabilities that may have accrued from unliquidated entries, unexplained withdrawals, and missing inventory.