BOC-7 exceeds target by over half a billion

MANILA, Philippines — Collections made by the Bureau of Customs District Collection-7, led by the Port of Cebu, reached P8.68 billion in the first four months of the year, representing a surplus of more than half a billion from its target for that period.

Latest data showed that BOC-7, which is comprised of the ports of Cebu, Mactan, and Dumaguete, collected a total of P8,680,399,000 from January to April, up by P582.4 million from its intended collection target of P8.098 billion.

Cebu port accounted for the largest share in BOC-7’s total collections with P7.62 billion collected during the first four months against its target of P7.12 billion, or a surplus of about P508 million.

Mactan made P248.58 million, which is P10.77 million more than expected while Dumaguete was able to collect P807.95 million compared to its target of P744.8 million, or a surplus of P63.1 million.

Conrado Abarintos, head of the collection division at the BOC-Cebu, attributed the excess collection to the implementation of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, which imposes higher excise taxes on imported products like coal, heavy equipment, and construction materials, among others.

The tax reform law took effect starting January 1.

“Taas ang volume of importation ug tungod pud sa TRAIN Law kay nisaka baya ang excise tax, mao na nga nakuha gyud ang target collection and we have excess pa gyud,” said Abarintos.

For this year, the Department of Finance has assigned a target of P28 billion for BOC District 7.

Nationwide, the BOC, which is made up of 19 collection districts, targets to collect P637.1 billion for 2018.

BOC Commissioner Isidro Lapeña earlier expressed optimism that the bureau would hit its target for the year by reforming agency processes and reshuffling some employees to cut down red tape.

An Internal Affairs and Integrity Unit will be also established at the BOC this year to investigate bureau workers suspected of being engaged in corrupt practices. — JMD (FREEMAN)