MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs missed its collection target for September, Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said yesterday.
Nevertheless, Biazon expressed hopes that the agency would meet its lowered collection outlook for 2011 of P276.4 billion, which is significantly lower than the actual target for the year of P320 billion.
The BOC collected P22.783 billion in September or 24.5 percent below the target for the month of P30.165 billion.
However, the latest collection figures are higher than the P19.4 billion recorded in September last year, Biazon said.
The interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), the group that sets the country’s macroeconomic assumptions and growth targets, has approved a lower collection outlook for the year, which is different from the target DBCC earlier set.
“Hopefully, we will meet the P276.4 billion or the shortfall will be smaller,” Biazon said.
Former Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez appealed for the outlook to be lowered to P295 billion but this was not granted.
Biazon attributed the lower-than-expected collections to jitters from traders following the leadership change in September.
Biazon took over the helm of the BOC on Sept. 19. He expressed hopes that collections would improve this month as the jitters on leadership changes have already subsided.
During his time, Alvarez has been appealing for a lower revenue goal because 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.
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.