Customs exceeds collection goal in 5 months

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has surpassed its collection target for the first five months of the year due to the tax reform law as well as other reforms within the bureau, its top official said last Wednesday.

In a speech during the second condemnation of smuggled motor vehicles at the BOC headquarters, Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña said the bureau’s collections from Jan. 1 to May 29 amounted to P224.86 billion, surpassing the P223.86billion target for the five-month period.

“The bureau posted a strong and alltime high collection performance in the history of the BOC,” Lapeña said.

“From January to May 29, our collection target is P223.86 billion and we have already collected P224.86 billion, exceeding our target by P1 billion or 0.4 percent,” he said.

Lapeña said the latest collection figure was also about P50 billion or 28.6 percent higher than the P174.9 billion recorded in the same period in 2017.

For May alone, the customs chief said collections as of May 29 already hit P47 billion, just P2.2 billion short of the monthly target of P49.2 billion.

“As of May 29, with two more days left for the month, our target for the period is P49.2 billion and our collection is already P47 billion. I am confident that we will hit and even surpass our May target,” he said.

According to Lapeña, the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law has helped the BOC to exceed its January to May target.

He said of the total collections, P14.47 billion came from the excise taxes of petroleum products, P2.87 billion from motor vehicles excise, and P18.63 billion from other excisable products for a total of P35.97 billion.

“I am also happy to report that more and more men of the bureau are getting on-board in our efforts to transform this institution. While there are still reports of corruption in the agency, may I also inform the public that there are many officers, men and women of the bureau who are making contributions to reform the agency and rid this bureau of corruption,” Lapeña said.

The BOC chief also vowed to intensify the agency’s efforts to fight the entry of smuggled goods in the country.

Lapeña said just this January, the agency had intercepted P1.2 billion worth of various smuggled goods, including agricultural products, counterfeit items, used clothing, and other general merchandise.

“Also, we are strengthening our efforts in guarding our borders against the entry of dangerous drugs. An estimated P294 million worth of dangerous drugs have been intercepted by the BOC,” he said.

For 2018, the BOC is targeting to collect P598 billion in customs duties and taxes, higher than last year’s collection of P458.2 billion.