THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the Port of Tacloban has already breached its target revenue collection for the year of P321 million.
The Port of Tacloban, which is comprised of the subports of Isabel and Catbalogan City, proudly announced on Thursday that it has collected more than P1 billion as of November on the back of the increased volume of cargoes docking in their respective area.
As of November 29, the District Port has a total revenue collection of P1.006 billion, which posted a 213-percent collection growth from the P321-million target for this year, according to Port of Tacloban Acting District Collector Jose A. Naig.
The BOC said the Customs Collection District 08 was given a P267-million tax collection target for this year. Another P34 million was added to this target by August as the Port of Tacloban already surpassed the initial target at the end of the second quarter. Naig said that by the end of June, they already collected a total of P392 million.
“The strict implementation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and intensified operations against customs fraud of the Collection District 8 has resulted to a record-breaking accomplishment,” he added.
In January this year, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) raised the year’s revenue target for the BOC to P581.2 billion coming from a P459.6-billion target in 2017. The BOC was able to collect P444.1 billion in 2017.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the passage of Package 1B under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Act, which focuses on improving tax administration, was crucial in helping boost the collection effort of both the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
The Train law slashed the personal income tax rate from 32 percent to 25 percent while applying offsetting measures, including increasing the excise tax on fuel and automobiles, among others. Package 1B of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) of the Duterte administration is still being deliberated in Congress.