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WITH a
higher collection-efficiency rate, the Bureau of Customs
(BOC) said it will likely achieve its target collection
for the year as its district collectors are exceeding
revenue targets.
BOC
Commissioner Napoleon Morales told reporters on Thursday
they have posted a higher collection-efficiency rate of
about 27 percent, as revenue in June collection posted a
surplus of about P25 billion.
“There
is a strong possibility that we will meet the P254-
billion target [for 2008] given to us, considering what
is happening now,” Morales said.
Preliminary figures from the BOC’s collection districts
nationwide show that for the six-month period ending
June, they have surpassed the collection target of
P116.41 billion by about P708 million, collecting about
P117.12 billion.
June’s
collection has wiped out the bureau’s P2.8-billion
deficit from January to May, helped by the peso’s
weakening against the US dollar.
Morales
said high prices and the volume of rice imports
contributed to the bureau’s performance, despite a drop
in oil imports due to record crude prices.
“It
cannot be helped if the oil companies choose to lessen
their imports because the prices are really high. Even
the demand seems to have gone down because more people
are choosing not to use their cars to save on gasoline,”
he said.
“However, because of the high prices, we will still be
able to compensate as the taxes they pay are still
higher and we will still have a windfall from it.”
Eight of
the country’s 15 major ports of entry met their target
during the period. They were Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Clark
Field, Davao, Iloilo, Legaspi, San Fernando and Ninoy
Aquino International Airport.
The
major ports of Manila, Manila International Container
Port, and Batangas posted deficits of P7.48 billion,
P111 million and P4.43 billion, respectively.
Other
ports that missed their collection target were Tacloban,
Surigao, Subic Bay and Zamboanga.
The
Office of the Commissioner—a separate collection
district in charge of collecting tax from government
importations—collected P18.47 billion, or P12.87 billion
more than its target of P5.6 billion. |
