Customs revenue collection has reached a P52.420 billion total in the month of September, with 14 ports exceeding their respective collection targets for the month, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Wednesday.
Based on preliminary data obtained from the BOC’s Financial Service Division (FSD), the bureau registered a surplus of P464 million, breaching its target for the month of P51.956 billion.
According to Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña, the September collection is 30.2 percent higher than the P40.260-billion collection in the same month last year.
“I would like to emphasize that the bureau has been consistently hitting and exceeding the monthly targets since February. We will further step up our collection efforts so that we can hit the full-year target by December. The bureau is bent on helping the national government fuel its projects for the people,” Lapeña said.
The ports that exceeded their collection targets are, namely, the Port of Batangas, which collected P12.176 billion from its P12.029-billion target; the Port of Limay collecting P3.642 billion from its P3.161-billion target; the Port of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which collected P3.591 billion from its P3.587-billion target; the Port of Cebu with P2.669 billion from its P2.341-billion target;
The Port of Davao at P2.535 billion from its P1.667-billion target; the Port of Subic collecting P2.189 billion versus its P1.870-billion target; the Port of Cagayan de Oro, which collected P1.816 billion from its P1.467-billion target; the Port of Iloilo at P388 million from its P281-million target;
The Port of San Fernando, which collected P288 million from the P284-million target; the Port of Clark with P145 million from its P137-million target; the Port of Legaspi, which collected P71 million compared to its P25-million target;
The Port of Tacloban with P41 million in collections versus its P23-million target; the Port of Zamboanga, which collected P29 million from its P25-million target; and the Port of Aparri, which collected P5.09 million from its P4.89-million target.
Meanwhile, the ports that failed to hit their respective targets for the month are the Manila International Container Port, which collected P15.609 billion, and below its P16.021-billion target; the Port of Manila, which recorded a P7.021-billion revenue collection, which is below its P7.811-billion target; and the Port of Surigao collecting P1 million, which is lower than its P2-million target.
According to the BOC’s FSD, the continuous improvement in revenue performance is attributed to the increased volume and value of goods and the higher exchange rate, also made possible through the improved and correct valuation and tariff classification being implemented in all ports.
The BOC reported total collections of P435.964 billion from January to September 2018, higher by 34.6 percent than the P323.824-billion collection in the same period for 2017.
The January-to-September collection also breached the target for the period of P429.564 billion.
The BOC still needs P162.136 billion in collected revenues in order to hit its full-year target for 2018 of P598 billion.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) also reported that its revenue collections for the month of September reached a tentative P115.77 billion.
“For the month of September 2018, the BIR collected P115.77 billion. The said figure is tentative and is expected to rise when all collections for the month shall have been accounted for in the next two weeks,” the BIR said in a statement.
The preliminary collection data of P115.77 billion is short of the BIR’s collection target of P121.408 billion for the month based on its Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) 8-2018.
When asked if the BIR can hit its full-year target of P2.039 trillion, BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay told financial reporters that the bureau is trying its best to achieve their collection goals.
“We will [hit the target],” Dulay said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes