While it surpassed its 2024 revenues, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) still fell short of its 2025 target of ₱958.7 billion, collecting only ₱934.4 billion last year, which it blamed on weaker imports, the rice import ban, and global price jitters.

The latest preliminary data from the country’s second-largest tax collection agency showed that its 2025 revenues were 1.9 percent higher than its 2024 earnings of ₱916.7 billion. However, it remained 2.5 percent short of the target.

According to the BOC, the single-digit revenue expansion was achieved “despite the challenges, including lower import volumes, the suspension of rice importation, and global commodity price fluctuations.”

“Border protection remained a core priority of the BOC in 2025, as it intensified efforts to prevent the entry of prohibited, misdeclared, and undervalued goods,” Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said in a statement on Wednesday, Jan. 7.

Preliminary data showed that the BOC carried out over 1,000 enforcement operations last year, seizing smuggled and prohibited goods worth around ₱61.7 billion, down 27.6 percent from the 2024 actual collections of ₱85.2 billion—equivalent to over 2,100 anti-smuggling operations nationwide.

Still, the BOC said these results were driven by stronger intelligence coordination, improved risk profiling, and closer cooperation with law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

It also said it continued to ramp up its oversight of bonded warehouses and “expanded the use of non-intrusive inspection technologies to ensure regulatory compliance while minimizing disruption to legitimate trade.”

Among the reforms the BOC implemented in 2025 were stricter “no take” rules, an anti-conflict of interest directive, new online portals, and revised codes of conduct—all of which “strengthened internal controls, reinforced accountability, and improved public access to customs services,” the BOC said.

Nepomuceno said 2025 demonstrated the BOC’s ability to transform, with a focus on integrity, service, and trust in its operations.

“Every reform, every operation, every decision we make is about changing the way the public experiences the BOC,” he added.

“As we step into 2026, our mission is clear: to make the Bureau faster, more transparent, and genuinely reliable, and to build an institution that earns the confidence and respect of every Filipino,” the Customs chief said.

The BOC said it will continue its reforms, strengthen partnerships, and use digital innovations to improve efficiency.

Stakeholders, the BOC said, remain confident in the agency’s ongoing reforms and leadership under Nepomuceno.

For 2026, 2027, and 2028, the BOC is expected to collect ₱1.01 trillion, ₱1.07 trillion, and ₱1.14 trillion, respectively.