THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said it is confident it will achieve its P1 trillion-collection target next year as economic conditions improve.
“I’m confident that our government is really doing its job and in some of the economic meetings that I’ve attended, our cabinet secretaries I think are very optimistic that interest rates will go down and we have good projections for next year. I am hopeful that with the economy getting better, trade will also get better,” Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio told reporters last week.
Based on the Budget department’s Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, the BoC is tasked to collect P1 trillion next year.
It is also projected to generate P1.076 trillion by 2025 and P1.16 trillion by 2026.
Mr. Rubio said he will also adjust practices to improve revenue collection.
“We adjust policies based on what we observe, and whatever will help us increase our revenue collection, I will capture it and put it as a policy,” he added.
In the first 11 months, the BoC collected P813.651 billion, equivalent to about 93% of its full-year target.
This was also 2.2% higher than the P795.966-billion target for the period and up 3.09% from a year earlier.
The BoC also reported that it seized a record P42.5-billion worth of smuggled goods in the year to date ending Dec. 1.
These consisted of counterfeit goods (P24.36 billion), illegal drugs (P7.58 billion), smuggled agricultural products (P3.78 billion), and cigarettes and tobacco (P3.77 billion). — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
