Customs revenue rises to P701 billion in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P701.04 billion from January to September, 1.5 percent or nearly P10.4 billion higher than last year’s collection of P690 billion.

While growth was modest, the figure still reflected a positive expansion compared to previous months, its top official said.

Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said that revenues significantly improved starting in July, despite a steady revenue stream from January to June due to various external factors.

Customs collections from July to August grew by 2.3 percent to P162.61 billion from P158.9 billion in the same period last year. Meanwhile, from January to June, BOC collection posted a growth of less than one percent to P458.7 billion.

“At least there’s still growth when you combine the figures. You just have to be fair with the current performance starting in July. It improved beginning in July, but when aggregated from January, it remains low. But we had a growth of 1.5 percent,” he said.

Nepomuceno said the same trend seen in August persisted in September, with revenues increasing despite lower trade volumes, reflecting improved collection efficiency.

“We will still compute it. I haven’t given up yet; there’s still a chance. Hopefully, we can manage it. I just can’t make promises because for that to happen, there’s a lot to fix in the BOC. There are many moving parts; when you adjust one, everything else moves,” he told reporters.

Nepomuceno emphasized the need to engage with stakeholders, business communities and brokers to ensure proper and transparent processes within the BOC. By doing so, the customs chief said the agency can effectively address challenges and meet its revenue collection targets.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto earlier said that both the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the BOC are unlikely to meet their respective revenue collection targets for the year, citing persistent challenges affecting revenue performance.

The BOC is mandated to generate a total revenue collection of P958.7 billion for the year, according to the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee.