The Port of Zamboanga has exceeded its annual collection goal of P288 million for the year, with its current port collection amounting to P351.787 million, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Monday.
The BOC said in a news statement that the southern Philippines port has collected P38.661 million for the month of December alone, surpassing its assigned monthly target of P25 million. This led to the port breaching its annual target of P288 million for the year.
Segundo Sigmundfreud Z. Barte Jr., acting district collector of the Port of Zamboanga, said that the intensified anti-smuggling drive resulted to the rise in the revenue collection from the importation of rice and cement.
The importation of liquefied petroleum gas, round logs and refined bleach and deodorized palm oil also contributed to the higher collection records of the port, 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, from the 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, is crucial in helping boost the collection effort of both the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
Last December President Duterte signed into law the TRAIN, which 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) is still being deliberated upon by Congress.
Earlier in December, the BOC also reported that the Port of Tacloban also breached its target revenue collection for the year of P321 million, with collections already reaching P1.006 billion for the month of November.
The Port of Tacloban, comprised of the sub-ports of Isabel and Catbalogan City, reported that it has collected more than P1 billion as of November on the back of the increased incoming volume of cargoes.