Customs revenue ups 10.5 pct in November

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said today that its collections expanded by 10.5 percent on year to P31.224 billion ($697.70 million) in November.

However, the BOC failed to meet its target collection for the month, which was P37.328 billion ($834.09 million).

For the first 11 months to November, collections stood at P331.171 billion ($7.40 billion), 17.8 percent higher from the same period last year, Customs said.

The double-digit growth in the revenue collections in November continued despite the price of imported petroleum products tempered during the period, it said.

Last month, the volume of imported goods grew 26.3 percent, as consumer demand peaked for the yuletide season.

However, the price of imported petroleum products, which accounts for about one-fourth of the Bureau's revenues, dropped, BOC noted, adding that the value of motor vehicles imports, which comprises about 16 percent of total revenues, also declined as consumers shifted preference to compact, fuel-efficient sedans.

For December, the BOC said it is programmed to collect P31.984 billion ($714.68 million) by the Development Budget Coordination Committee, while the full year target is P408.1 billion ($9.12 billion).