The Bureau of Customs (BOC) bucked weaker import volumes in August as it collected more revenue than a year earlier on higher-valued non-oil shipments and stronger petroleum trade. However, revenues still fell short of the agency’s target for the month.
Preliminary data from the second-largest revenue-generating agency showed that it collected P81.350 billion in August, up by 5.1 percent from the P77.436 billion it raked in during the same month a year ago.
These collections came from import duties and taxes, value-added tax on imports and excise taxes on petroleum products.
‘Revenue growth stemmed from higher valuations of non-oil imports despite lower volumes, while increased oil shipments and favorable global prices further lifted petroleum trade values,’ the BOC said.
‘Combined, these factors reinforced the revenue base and emphasized the Bureau of Customs’ vital role in sustaining fiscal stability,’ it added.
However, the August collection was 1.97 percent below the bureau’s P82.943-billion target for the month, resulting in a shortfall of P1.593 billion.
Of the 17 collection districts under the BOC’s watch, 12 surpassed their respective collection targets.
These included the ports of Aparri, Legazpi, San Fernando, Iloilo, Tacloban, Clark, Subic, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Limay, Cebu and Zamboanga. The remaining five-Batangas, Manila and Surigao, as well as the Manila International Container Port and Ninoy Aquino International Airport-missed their targets.
Still, the border control agency amassed a total of P664.764 billion in revenues from January to August this year.
This was 6.98 percent higher than the P621.387 billion it collected during the same eight-month period a year earlier.
The BOC has been benefiting from higher duties and VAT collections on imports due to the stronger US dollar and higher crude oil prices as the conflict between the United States and Iran escalated in February.
The Philippine peso fell to a new record low of P62.59 against the dollar last Friday, September 4, weaker by 7 centavos from Thursday’s close of P62.52.
Renewed fighting in the Middle East has also sent global crude oil prices to near three-month highs, with Brent crude trading at $96 per barrel.
Nonetheless, the BOC is expected to hit its P1.011-trillion revenue target for this year, which was raised from its earlier goal of P1.003 trillion to take into account the stronger US dollar, higher oil prices and increased imports.
‘We’re confident we can still hit the additional adjusted revenue target,’ Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said earlier, banking on improved revenue collection and tightened assessment processes.
Next year, the BOC’s revenue collection is projected to reach P1.074 trillion and hit P1.134 trillion in 2028.