BOC collects ₧138.5M from sale of containers

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P138.5 million from disposing overstaying containers through public auction in the first quarter of the year.

In a statement on Wednesday, the BOC said the amount was raised through auctioning off 354 overstaying containers of assorted items such as rice and galvanize steel, among others.

Apart from conducting a public auction, the bureau also disposed 232 containers through condemnation during the same period.

Overall, the bureau disposed a total of 586 containers through various modes, such as auction, condemnation, and donation.

Disposing overstaying containers is aimed at improving trade facilitation by eliminating port and yard congestion, the BOC said.

Cargoes which were not withdrawn within the 30-day regulatory period from payment of duties, taxes, and other charges shall be deemed abandoned, unless covered by duly issued alert order, and upon the finality of the Decree of Abandonment, the bureau shall then determine the proper disposition among auction, condemnation or donation.

The BOC collected a total of P148 billion as of the end of the first quarter for this year, exceeding its P134 billion target for the period. This was also 1.9-percent higher compared to the P145.3 billion collection from January to March last year.

For this year, the BOC targets to collect a total of P616.7 billion, significantly higher by 21.84 percent than the downgraded 2020 target set for BOC at P506.15 billion.

Last year, the bureau’s total revenue collection reached P537.7 billion, above its revised revenue collection target by 6.2 percent.