Customs exceeds February tax target of P12 B

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) remains confident it will meet its P192-billion collection target this year after posting a revenue surplus of P209 million in February.

In a report submitted to President Arroyo at a Cabinet meeting at Malacañang yesterday, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the BOC exceeded its P12.282-billion target collection last month.

It will be recalled that, in January, the BOC collected P12.4 billion, which was P313 million above the agency’s target that month.

Morales said the Port of Batangas and Port of Manila were at the forefront of the bureau’s collection drive and surpassed their targets by P707 million and P404 million, respectively. Batangas collected P2.696 billion while the Manila P4.728 billion.

During the first two months of the year, the ports of Batangas and Manila already posted a combined collection surplus of P2.1 billion.

The Port of Manila is headed by collector Horacio Suansing Jr., who has set guidelines to ensure the Port of Manila’s consistently outstanding collection, including constant follow-ups on demand letters to importers with unpaid obligations, continuing efforts to settle the Jumbo Palace case, reconciliation of bonds and the speedy auction of seized and abandoned cargo.

It was also learned that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) surpassed its target collection for the first time in the past months. The country’s main airport exceeded its P1.133-billion target collection by P30 million.

Morales has commended his district collectors for the positive response they gave to his call for them to perform better, saying the number of collection districts surpassing their targets increased from seven in January to nine last month.

The BOC chief said the results of the agency’s performance over the last two months came as a surprise because "this season is traditionally lean for importations, since the Christmas season has just passed."

"The omens are favorable but the finish line is still far away," Morales said. The government has set an "ambitious" P192-billion collection target this year, P40 billion more than the revenue target set last year.

Morales has embarked on a five-point reform agenda that includes intensified anti-smuggling drive and enhancing trade facilitation systems like the BOC’s ongoing computerization program.

The BOC continues to perform well in meeting its collection targets despite the country’s socio-political crises and the allegations that some officials of the BOC are protecting big-time smugglers.

Morales said they will soon reveal the results of their investigation into allegations made by Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos that the BOC has been protecting three big-time smugglers and providing these smugglers with a "super green lane" for 400 container vans in the PoM.

The IEG, under Deputy Commissioner Celso Templo, was supposed to release the results of the investigation last month, but other enforcement agencies failed to reply to the BOC investigators’ request for confirmation of Marcos’ allegations.

Sources inside the agency told The STAR that Customs officials are presently "sanitizing" the list of smugglers.

Because of Marcos’ allegations, the Senate has temporarily suspended the approval of the budget of the Department of Finance and the BOC until a list of smugglers is produced.

While dealing with the accusations that BOC officials are protecting smugglers, Morales said his bureau will focus on enhancing the bureau’s capability to collect more revenue for the government.