THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced it seized smuggled goods—mostly counterfeit products—in the first half of the year and which the agency valued at P8.37-billion (about $149.43 million at current exchange rates).
The BOC said last Monday it staged 293 seizure operations from January to June this year.
Counterfeit goods led the list of top seized commodities, amounting to P5.23 billion, followed by illegal drugs (P1.67 billion) and general merchandise (P388.8 million).
In a statement, the agency vowed to continue intensifying efforts to protect the country’s borders to bar entry of illicit goods. The Customs bureau added it has issued 58 Letters of Authority in the same period; 44 of these yielded positive results.
The bureau also said it issued 78 alert orders, 57 of which were positive for violation of pertinent customs laws, rules and regulations.
The BOC reported the smuggled goods seized for 2021 was valued at P28.4 billion, of which P21.65 billion were for counterfeit products.
Customs officials expressed confidence the bureau may surpass its P679.226 billion full-year 2022 collection target, or more than 10 percent from the P616.75 billion set as target for 2021.
So far, the BOC has reported collecting more than half of that as the second half of the year has begun. The bureau said its collection of P396.804 billion has already exceeded its mid-year collection target of P327.81 billion.
Customs officials attributed the positive collection performance to improved valuation, digitized and modernized systems and the improving economy; resulting to higher volume of importations, among others.