-
The Bureau of Customs collected 54.1% more revenues from petroleum products in November 2020 year-on-year
-
Fuel imports grew by 32.1% to 1.1 billion kilograms (kg) last month compared to 829.4 million kg in the same period in 2019
-
From January 1 to November 30, revenues from petroleum products increased 1.6%
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P12.83 billion in revenues from petroleum products in November 2020, 54.1% higher than the P8.33 billion earned in the same period last year as a result of a surge in the imports of diesel and gasoline.
BOC in a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said excise taxes collected from fuel imports from November 1 to November 30 amounted to P8.97 billion, which is 88.7% higher than last year’s collection of P4.76 billion for the same period, the Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement.
For the same period, fuel imports increased by 32.1% to 1.1 billion kilograms (kg) compared to 829.4 million kg brought into the country in the same period in 2019.
Crude oil importation was only 381.8 million kg during this period, a 51.8% drop compared to the 792.7 million kg that were imported last year, BOC said during a recent DOF executive committee meeting.
This came as Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. shut down its refinery in Batangas last August and announced it would convert the site into an import terminal, DOF noted.
READ: Shell permanently shutters Batangas refinery
Oil refiners in Asia, North America and Europe have also permanently shut down their facilities following the decline in global fuel demand by 30% amid the global economic slump resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November, the volume of diesel imports amounted to 698.8 million kg, up by 60% from the 436.9 million kg imported during the same period last year.
The volume of gasoline imports also increased by 55.7% to 259.2 million kg during the same period, up from 166.4 million kg last year, BOC data showed.
Imports of kerosene and other oil products grew 354.4% in November 2020 to 5.8 million kg from 1.28 million kg during the same period this year.
As expected, jet fuel imports decreased 71% to 14.6 million kg in November from 50.2 million kg last year, in light of the pandemic-related international travel restrictions.
Revenue growth from fuel imports from January 1 to November 30 showed a 1.6% increase to P133.4 billion from P131.4 billion collected in the same period in 2019.
The increase in excise tax collections by 25.8% to P91.7 billion from P72.9 billion last year accounted for the growth in revenues. The higher excise tax collected is despite the drop in the volume of fuel imports from 12.7 million kg in 2019 to 11.67 million kg this year.
As a result of lower global demand, the value of fuel imports also declined by 34.4%.
The value of fuel imports from January to November was recorded at P250.52 billion, down from P381.97 billion during the same period in 2019.
