BOC misses Sept collection goal of P30.165 B

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) missed its collection goal for September, Customs Commissioner Ruzzano Ruffino “Ruffy” Biazon said yesterday.

Biazon said the BOC collected only P20.2 billion, lower by 23 percent than the P30.165 billion target for the month.

However, Biazon said that compared to the revenues generated in September last year when the bureau collected only P16 billion, the latest collection figure is higher by P4 billion.

Biazon, who took over the bureau on Sept. 19, attributed the lower-than-target collection to investors’ jitters.

He said there were jitters among traders because there was a change in leadership last month. “When we assumed office, there were jitters as the leadership changed,” Biazon said.

Biazon, however, expressed optimism that the bureau would be collecting more in the coming months as the uncertainties have subsided.

Nonetheless, he welcomed the decision of the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) to slash the agency’s collection goal this year to P278 billion from P320 billion.

Former Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez appealed for the target to be lowered to P295 billion but this was not granted.

Meanwhile, for next year, the DBCC also reduced the BOC’s target to P312 billion from P365 billion previously.

The interagency DBCC sets the country’s macroeconomic assumptions and targets including the revenue goals of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Customs.

During his time, Alvarez has been appealing for a lower revenue goal as there are, now nearly 2,000 products that until June last year were considered traditional big revenue sources for the BOC.

They now come in duty free or with reduced tariff as a result of various free trade agreements and government’s social amelioration initiatives.

Some of the big ticket items that are now zero rated are petroleum products, cereals, plastics and articles thereof, iron and steel, paper and paperboard, fertilizers and cement.