Customs collections rise in Feb, but miss target
THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) collected more year on year in February, but its three-month streak of performing above target was broken, which it blamed on a seasonal slump in imports as a result of Chinese New Year.
According to initial data posted on the BoC website, the agency collected P30.755 billion in February, up 13.78% year on year.
The total was only 92% of the target for the month of P33.409 billion.
This breaks the bureau’s run of beating its targets dating to November, when it achieved 110% of its target. In both December and January, collection performance was 101%.
The BoC spokesperson, lawyer Mandy Therese M. Anderson, who is also Chief of Staff at the Office of the Commissioner, said February typically features lower collections following Chinese New Year.
“The fall was due to the Chinese New Year. Imports from China slowed down during this time,” said Ms. Anderson in a text message to BusinessWorld yesterday.
Only eight out of the bureau’s 17 ports performed above target, down from January’s 12. These ports were: San Fernando, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Legazpi, Iloilo, Cagayan, Zamboanga, Davao, and Subic.
Asked what contributed to the collection increase in February, Ms. Anderson said: “There are more importers now, and more demand. It’s a combination of different factors. The ease of importing goods and doing business in the world market also contributed to the increase.”
Moving forward, the BoC remained positive on its future collection performance.
“Collections went up again this month. We’re optimistic that we can make up the deficiency (against the target) from February,” said Ms. Anderson.
BoC’s March collection performance is estimated at 101%, even before the end of the month.
Earlier, Zamboanga port reported that its higher revenue was due to the continuous arrival of rice covered by importation permits under the Minimum Access Volume ( MAV) scheme, which allows importers from the private sector to bring in rice after pre-payment of duties and taxes. —