Customs collections exceed target in July

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs once again surpassed its collection target due to the strong performance of majority of ports nationwide.

According to preliminary data from the Financial Service division of the BOC, the agency collected P52.05 billion in customs taxes and duties in July, exceeding the target of P50.07 billion by 3.9 percent.

This was the sixth consecutive month this year that the bureau exceeded its revenue target.

On a year-on-year basis, the BOC’s July collection was also 48.7 percent higher compared to the previous year’s P34.99 billion.

This also brought the seven-month collection of the BOC to P332.5 billion, exceeding the target of P328.2 billion for the period by 1.3 percent.

The BOC attributed the improvement in revenue collection to the enhanced performance of ports nationwide.

Among the top performers were the ports of Batangas with P13.39 billion, Manila with P7.69 billion, and Limay with P3.91 billion.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport also surpassed its target with collections of P3.35 billion, while the port of Cebu booked a collection of P2.47 billion.

The ports of Davao and of Cagayan also collected P2.26 billion and P1.87 billion, respectively.

Other ports which exceeded their collection goals were San Fernando (P430 million), Iloilo (P338 million), Tacloban (P234 million), Clark (P204 million), Zamboanga (P35 million), Legaspi (P24 million), Surigao (P13 million), and Aparri (P10 million).

On the other hand, the Manila International Container Port missed its P15.44 billion target for the month, with only P14.22 billion in revenue. The port of Subic collected P1.6 billion, below its P1.8 billion target.

 “The bureau’s improved revenue performance is driven by strong enforcement and revenue enhancement measures and higher exchange rate and increased oil price in the market,” the BOC said.

Going forward, Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña said the bureau expects to sustain its growth momentum until the end of the year.

 “We are expecting consistent revenue growth and I remain confident that we will hit and even exceed our year-end target,” Lapeña said.