Bureau of Customs misses 2011 goal by P56.3 billion

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) missed its 2011 revenue goal by at least P56.29 billion, according to preliminary data available from the agency.

However, in an interview with The STAR, Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon stressed that the numbers may still change as the figures were based on data available before the Christmas break.

According to preliminary data from BOC, the government’s second largest revenue agency collected P263.71 billion in 2011, which is P56.29 billion below the P320-billion revenue goal for last year.

“This is preliminary. I would rather wait for the official data that will be released by the Department of Finance,” Biazon said.

In December alone, the BOC collected P20.71 billion, preliminary data also showed.

Biazon said the final collection figures can still go up because there is a lag in data gathering and that volumes increase in December.

In his First 100 Days in Office Report, Biazon said the BOC may have collected as much as P290.766 billion for 2011.

This, however, is still P30 billion short of the 2011 target set by the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

“While the magnitude of accomplishments have yet to be seen, I have initiated a review of the system in the BOC, beginning with the computerized customs clearing process. We have tapped experts in the field to identify the loopholes in the system which we aim to plug in the coming year,” Biazon said.

He said the agency has secured the release of P192 million to replace computer hardware.