PH BOC sees largest collection deficit in June

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The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) recorded its biggest collection shortfall for the year, taking in P21.663 billion in June, 24.8% less than the target of P28.809 billion.

The amount represents purely cash collections since there were no revenues from the tax expenditure fund (TEF) or the fee paid by government for its imports. The TEF target for June was P661 million.

The June cash collection was 6.8% higher than the comparable month last year but 23% down from this year’s goal of P28.148 billion.

From January to June, total collections reached P128.557 billion, a decline of 23.1% from the target of P167.175 billion but up 11.4% from last year.

Of the total, cash collections in the first six months represented P127.572 billion compared to the target of P163.341 billion and the TEF, P985 million against the goal of P3.834 billion.

Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon said meeting revenue goals is a big challenge considering volume shipments are not keeping pace.

“In other countries, our counterparts are given a revenue projection instead of targets. The main job of their customs is trade facilitation. We should start thinking the same way,” Biazon said.

 

5 biggest letdown

The BOC’s five biggest collection districts all failed to meet their target collection in June.

Of the total 16 districts, only five – all secondary ports — hit their respective goals.

Among the five biggest, the Port of Manila posted the largest shortfall, missing its P6.212-billion target by 28% to P4.475 billion.

The Manila International Container Terminal, the country’s biggest collection district, also missed its collection target by 24.4% after taking in P5.919 billion compared to its goal of P7.835 billion.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where most of the country’s electronics and semiconductor products pass, saw a shortfall of 20.5%, collecting P1.790 billion vis-à-vis its target of P2.251 billion.

The oil port of Limay posted a gap of 9.7% as it collected P2.807 billion from its target of P3.107 billion. Since the beginning of the year, Limay has been the only port in BOC’s top five districts that has consistently reached its revenue targets.

The country’s biggest oil port Batangas registered a deficit of 4.9%, taking in P5.815 billion against its target of P6.117 billion.

Other ports that failed to reach their June target include Tacloban, off by 77.8%; Iloilo, 49.3%; San Fernando, 40.2%; Legazpi, 27.3%; Subic by 20.3%; Davao, 10.7%; and Cebu, 6.1%.

Only the ports of Aparri, Clark, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Surigao hit their revenue goals.

Meanwhile, the Development Budget and Coordination Committee has increased the BOC’s 2013 target collection by 14% to P397 billion from this year’s P347 billion.

The goal for the country’s other main revenue-generating agency, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, was also jacked up by 16% to P1.239 trillion from P1.066 trillion.

The increased target comes at a time when BOC’s budget has been reduced amid a cut in capital outlays mainly from its information-technology project.

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